The days of '6 cans for €8' deals are numbered.

New legislation announced today by Health Minister Leo Varadkar means that a can of beer will cost of a minimum of €1.95. The Public Health Alcohol Bill will set a minimum price for each unit of alcohol. Minimum unit pricing (MUP) means a 'floor price' is being set, beneath which alcohol cannot legally be sold. 

It is designed to stop the sale of strong alcohol products at very low prices in the off-trade, particularly supermarkets. Its goal is to reduce average annual alcohol consumption in Ireland from 11 to 9.1 litres per person by 2020.

Under the new laws, a bottle of wine will cost around €8.60, while a bottle of beer would come in at €1.29. 

Mr Varadkar says that the legislation will be life-saving and reduce admissions to accident and emergency departments.

Alcohol advertising on TV and radio will also be affected, adverts restricted until after the 9.00pm watershed.

Via Newstalk