The position is that during my discussions earlier this year with the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland, Nelson McCausland, MLA, we agreed on the desirability of developing a joint North/South approach to restricting certain alcohol promotions and on the need to have the necessary arrangements in place by the end of this year.
The Department of Social Development in Northern Ireland subsequently launched a consultation process on draft proposals to prohibit fixed price promotions, i.e. unlimited supply of alcohol for a fixed price, in public houses and other premises with on licences, and to restrict the sale of bulk purchases of alcohol in supermarkets and other premises with off licences. Arising from the consultation process, Minister McCausland has recently announced that while he proposes to proceed with the prohibition on fixed price promotions in premises with on licences, he has decided not to proceed with restrictions on bulk purchases from off licences following concerns raised by the Northern Ireland Assembly's Social Development Committee.
In light of the approach being adopted in Northern Ireland, I am now considering how best to proceed with regulations under section 16 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008. In this context, I am of course conscious that the effectiveness of any future restrictions in this jurisdiction could be undermined by the lack of any corresponding measures in Northern Ireland.