Almost 30 charities, community groups and organisations representing medical staff have joined forces to call on the government to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.

Minimum pricing refers to a price below which alcohol cannot be sold. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this is one of the most effective policies a government can introduce in order to reduce alcohol-related harm.

This call, which was initially made by Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national charity for alcohol-related issues, is now being backed by a total of 27 charities and organisations, including the Irish Medical Organisation, the ISPCC, the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, the Irish Association of Suicidology and St Vincent de Paul.

According to AAI director, Fiona Ryan, many of these organisations are ‘dealing with the realities of alcohol-related harm in communities, families, the health system and on the streets on a daily basis'.

She said that the current price of alcohol is a ‘very real concern', with young people well aware of pricing promotions. She also insisted that the marketing of alcohol, which includes pricing and advertising, does influence young people's attitudes and drinking behaviour.

"As adults there is a danger that we look back nostalgically on our own teenage experiences, forgetting that children are drinking earlier than previous generations - the average age of first drinking is now 14 with many drinking earlier," Ms Ryan noted.

She also emphasised that alcohol is now ‘more widely available and more affordable than in prevous generations'.