Irish Republic and Northern Ireland come together to hold first all-island conference on alcohol

Irish Republic Minister of State Róisín Shortall and Dr James Reilly, Ireland Minister for Health, attended the first all-island conference on the issue of alcohol abuse held in Armagh early in 2012.

The conference was jointly opened by both Ministers for Health, Dr James Reilly and Mr Edwin Poots and brought together policy makers and representatives from a range of agencies from north and south of the border to explore common issues and challenges in relation to alcohol culture and alcohol harm. The conference focused, in particular, on the challenges relating to alcohol and young adults.

Establishing a cross-border minimum unit price for alcohol was one of the ideas being discussed. Given that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK, these moves, combined with those already taking place in other parts of the UK, clearly create the possibility of a move towards a common minimum unit pricing policy across the whole of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking at the conference, Minster Reilly said “This conference Alcohol sports sponsorship to end in Republic of Ireland Subsequently, Minister of State for Health, Róisín Shortall, pledged to put an end to alcohol sponsorship of sports events. “I am committed to phasing that out over a reasonable period of time,” she said in the Dáil. There is “no room for ambivalence in our approach”. Ms Shortall was responding to Fianna Fáil spokesman on children Charlie McConalogue, who asked if the Government was committed to banning “the advertising of alcohol in conjunction with sports events”. has set the scene for a longer term, all-island collaborative approach for tackling issues relating to alcohol abuse. It makes sense to work together on an all-island basis to reduce levels of alcohol consumption in order to save lives and reduce the burden of alcohol abuse to society. The areas we would like progress on a North South basis are measures to reduce the availability of cheap alcohol, treatment and rehabilitation of those affected by alcohol misuse.”

Minister Edwin Poots said: “There is no doubt; alcohol misuse is one of the main threats to public health in Northern Ireland. Research has shown that it costs Northern Ireland up to £900 million every year, and almost £250 million of these costs are borne by the Health and Social Care Sector. If we do not take significant and robust action, the costs to Northern Ireland, and the health and social care system in particular, will continue to grow.

“I believe that alcohol is a cultural and societal issue - one that has a significant impact on both sides of the border and indeed across the UK. It makes sense that we share common goals and ambitions and, where appropriate, work across the UK and Ireland to develop a consistent and long-term approach. Today’s conference is the perfect opportunity for us to build a consensus of common goals and to look at how we can work together most effectively to reinforce the actions already underway in each jurisdiction.”

• The key objectives of the conference included:

• To broaden understanding of the impact of alcohol abuse across the island of Ireland

• To consider particular challenges relating to alcohol and young adults and our drinking culture

• To consider possible broad strategic responses

• To consider ways in which responses across the island of Ireland could be better coordinated

Minister of State with responsibility for Primary Care and Drugs Strategy Róisín Shortall stated: “Alcohol use and misuse is an area where both jurisdictions can achieve a lot together - especially in dealing with the challenges that alcohol presents for young adults. I am particularly concerned with the relationship Ireland has with alcohol. My Department has a report on alcohol from the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group which shall shortly be brought to Government.”

At the conference, expert contributions came from Sir Ian Gilmore, who Chairs the UK Alcohol Health Alliance and also the European Alcohol and Health Forum Science Group, Dr Peter Anderson, an international public health consultant and expert on alcohol policy and Dr Fiona Measham, a renowned researcher in the fields of drug and alcohol use, gender, licensed leisure and the relationship between crime and culture.

The conference was jointly organised by both Departments of Health, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland and Cooperation and Working Together, the cross border health partnership.