The availability of alcohol in small, convenient shops and petrol stations would be limited if the Government fully implemented existing legislation requiring the sectioning-off of areas for its sale.


Doctors in Killarney backed a call for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence to commence Section 9 (structural separation) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 without delay, as the current voluntary code of practice was not working.

Public health specialist Dr Declan Bedford explained that the Intoxicating Liquor Act stipulated that in order to sell alcohol, there should be structural separation “from the remainder of the premises by means of a wall or similar barrier, to which access from the remainder of the premises by members of the public may only be obtained by means of a door, gate or turnstile”, and to reach that part of the shop, “the public do not have to pass through it in order to obtain access to the remainder of the premises”...