As this week marks the passing of 900 days since the Public Health Alcohol Bill began its legislative passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas, Alcohol Action Ireland has called on the Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, to renew his focus and prioritise the legislation.

Over that time, sadly the shocking levels of alcohol related harms have continued unabated:
• 2,700 deaths were alcohol related; that is three per day.
• 9,894 cases of alcohol related self-harm have been treated.
• 1.35 million hospital beds have been lost to alcohol related illnesses at a cost of €1.1 billion.
• 762,451 days of alcohol related absenteeism at a cost of €126m.

While recent Technical Barrier-to-Trade Comments from the EU Commission on aspects of the re-notified Bill may add a time delay to final enactment, Committee Stage for the Bill can be debated by Dáil Éireann now, and completed in the coming weeks before the Summer Recess..........