Message 001
Communication from the Commission - TRIS/(2026) 0812
Directive (EU) 2015/1535
Notification: 2026/0135/IE
Notification of a draft text from a Member State
Notification – Notification – Notifzierung – Нотификация – Oznámení – Notifikation – Γνωστοποίηση – Notificación – Teavitamine – Ilmoitus – Obavijest – Bejelentés – Notifica – Pranešimas – Paziņojums – Notifika – Kennisgeving – Zawiadomienie – Notificação – Notificare – Oznámenie – Obvestilo – Anmälan – Fógra a thabhairt
Does not open the delays - N'ouvre pas de délai - Kein Fristbeginn - Не се предвижда период на прекъсване - Nezahajuje prodlení - Fristerne indledes ikke - Καμμία έναρξη προθεσμίας - No abre el plazo - Viivituste perioodi ei avata - Määräaika ei ala tästä - Ne otvara razdoblje kašnjenja - Nem nyitja meg a késéseket - Non fa decorrere la mora - Atidėjimai nepradedami - Atlikšanas laikposms nesākas - Ma jiftaħx il-perijodi ta’ dewmien - Geen termijnbegin - Nie otwiera opóźnień - Não inicia o prazo - Nu deschide perioadele de stagnare - Nezačína oneskorenia - Ne uvaja zamud - Inleder ingen frist - Ní osclaíonn sé na moilleanna
MSG: 20260812.EN
1. MSG 001 IND 2026 0135 IE EN 13-03-2026 IE NOTIF
2. Ireland
3A. National Standards Authority of Ireland
1 Swift Square, Northwood, Santry
Dublin 9 D09 A0E4
Ireland
Tel: 00 353 (0)1 807 3824
Email: EUDirective2015.1535@nsai.ie
3B. Tobacco and Alcohol Control Unit
4th Floor, Block 1
Miesian Plaza
50- 58 Lower Baggot Street
Dublin 2 D02XW14
4. 2026/0135/IE - C51A - Beverages
5. Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
6. These regulations relate to the sale and supply of alcohol products
7.
8. The purpose of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Products) Regulations 2020 is to prohibit certain price promotions of alcohol products such as sale at a reduced price. The definition of sale at a reduced price includes the use of bonus or loyalty card points or any similar benefit in relation to the purchase or sale of alcohol products.
The proposed Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 amend the 2020 Regulations to prohibit the similar benefit of price reductions for alcohol products on the basis of possession of a loyalty card or membership of a loyalty scheme or club.
9. Section 23 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 provides that the Minister for Health may make regulations to prohibit certain price promotions of alcohol products in order to meet the objectives of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, which are to:
• reduce alcohol consumption to 9.1 litres of pure alcohol per person per annum,
• delay the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people,
• reduce the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol, and
• regulate the supply and price of alcohol in order to minimise the possibility and incidence of alcohol related harm.
Harms and costs of alcohol consumption in Ireland-
• According to Ireland’s national health survey in 2025:
51% of people who drink alcohol, do so at a harmful level.
26% of the population are binge drinkers on a typical drinking occasion (i.e. drink at least standard 6 units of alcohol).
• In Ireland, alcohol use declined among young people aged 15–24 years from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s. However, since 2015 that downward trend has been reversing. According to Ireland's national health survey data, youth drinking has been increasing for almost a decade, with consumption now back at 75%.
• 4.8% of all deaths here and 5.2% of disability adjusted life years were attributable to alcohol in 2019 according to Global Burden of Disease data.
• The number of people discharged from hospital whose condition was wholly attributable to alcohol rose by 94.8% in a 30 year period up to 2018.
• According to the National Cancer Registry, alcohol consumption is the fourth highest modifiable risk factor for cancer in Ireland. Alcohol was the cause of 2.4% of all cancers in the year 2016.
• A 2022 study of the increase in alcoholic liver disease patients in Irish hospitals for the 10 years up to 2016 showed there was a 38% increase in hospital discharges and a 300% increase in hepatocellular carcinoma coding for patients with alcohol liver disease. Deaths from alcoholic liver disease also rose by 29% over the 10-year period.
• According to OECD estimates, over the next 30 years 4.1% of Ireland's total health expenditure will be due to disease caused by alcohol consumption above 1 drink per day by women and 1.5 drinks per day by men.
Availability and cost-
Regulation of alcohol promotions aligns with the World Health Organisation's ‘Best Buys’ policy solutions to reduce population-level alcohol consumption, i.e. pricing, marketing and availability. These solutions are highly cost-effective, evidence-based, and yield a significant return on investment for governments to adopt.
From 2003 to 2021, the number of licences issued for pubs and bars declined by 20.3% in Ireland. However over that same period, the number of off-licences (including supermarkets, petrol stations, and other retail outlets that sell alcohol) has almost doubled, increasing by 95%. Additionally, off-licences were considered essential businesses during the pandemic and thus were not affected by closures; on the contrary, they thrived, as drinking in pubs and bars was replaced with drinking at home. The significant increase in the number of off-licences across Ireland exponentially increased the accessibility and availability of lower priced alcohol products. The use by off-licences of reduced-price promotions, often linked to loyalty card schemes, and the promotion of such schemes further increases the availability of cheaper alcohol and related increases in consumption.
The 2020 Regulations, made under section 23 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, prohibited alcohol price promotions relating to the accrual of loyalty card points. Subsequent loyalty card schemes do not rely on points but instead grant price reductions on the basis of possession of a loyalty card or membership of a loyalty scheme or club. The proposed Regulations specifically prohibit price reductions for alcohol products based on possession of a loyalty card or membership of a loyalty scheme or club.
10. References of the Basic Texts: 2019/0423/IRL,2016/0042/IRL
The basic texts were forwarded with an earlier notification:
2019/0423/IRL
2016/0042/IRL
11. No
12.
13. No
14. No
15. No
16.
TBT aspects: No
SPS aspects: No
**********
European Commission
Contact point Directive (EU) 2015/1535
email: grow-dir2015-1535-central@ec.europa.eu
