Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) is the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm. We campaign for the burden of alcohol harm to be lifted from the individual, community and State, and have a strong track record in effective advocacy, campaigning and policy research.

Summary of recommendations

Fiscal measures

• Affordability - AI recommends that the government increase excise duty by at least 15% to bring this back to their 2014 level and going forward that alcohol excise duty should be automatically linked to the Consumer Price Index.
• Industry levy - Give consideration to developing a new ‘polluter pays’ alcohol levy system with funding raised to be ringfenced for alcohol harm reduction strategies.
• MUP uprating - MUP should have a mechanism for automatic uprating with inflation otherwise it will lose its public health value. There is also scope to consider that any such increase could be constructed as a levy with the income going to government to pay for alcohol harm reduction as opposed to profit to retailers.
• Advertising tax relief - Alcohol is no ordinary commodity; it is a depressant drug with significant health implications for those who use. The advertising or marketing of this harmful product should not be provided with tax relief by government.
• VAT - VAT on alcohol should remain at the standard rate

Other recommendations:

• Treatment services - Funding must be provided to the HSE to develop its own treatment services that are trauma-informed, holistic and widely available at the time of need. A target of increasing alcohol services by 20% each year for five years should be set. €20 million annual cost. Provide funding for Alcohol Care Teams within all major hospitals and linked to community services. Such teams are a proven cost-effective approach to providing much needed interventions for people with entrenched problem alcohol use. As a first step, provide €350,000 annually to Beaumont Hospital to develop a pilot programme.
• HSE Alcohol Programme - The budget of the HSE Alcohol Programme should be increased by 20% each year over the next five years to help it achieve its stated aims of reducing alcohol
  consumption in the country, reducing health inequalities, and protecting people
  from alcohol related harm.
• Hidden Harm - Dedicated funding must be provided to HSE and Tusla to give the national Hidden Harm framework - that recognises the adverse childhood experience of growing up with parental problem substance use - momentum and urgency.
• Youth mental health - An immediate top-up of funding, separate to the existing budgetary allocation, of €25m should be provided for further implementing Sharing the Vision. Separate funding of no less than €25m should be provided immediately for resourcing organisations in the community and voluntary sector that provide mental health supports and general youth support services, as these are key to prevention and early intervention.