Deputy Mayor warns of alcohol price war

The Deputy Mayor of Derry, Councillor Patricia Logue has appealed to local supermarkets not to engage in an alcohol price war in the run up to Christmas.

The Sinn Féin councillor made the comment after media speculation that a number of major supermarket chains are planning to cut alcohol prices in a bid to boost pre-Christmas trade.Colr. Logue said the move could mean a bottle of beer would cost less than a bottle of water.

"I have serious concerns about press speculation that the major supermarkets are gearing up for a Christmas price war of alcohol and the problems that could lead to in our city. Of course everyone likes a bargain, the supermarkets want to sell alcohol in the same way that they sell milk or bread, but they can’t.

There needs to be stringent regulations in place to deal with this .There's something completely wrong in Derry when a bottle of beer could cost less than a bottle of water,” she said.

Councillor Logue also expressed concerned that cheaper alcohol could lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour. “This type of price-cutting just encourages people to drink excessively outside of a controlled environment and sadly adds to the problems we see on our city streets every weekend.

"There is a particular worry that groups of young people will pool their money to purchase many of the cheap multi buy offers of alcohol from the leading supermarkets chains. We all know too well the problems created by the binge drinking culture among our young people which is becoming a serious problem in the North. They are causing irreversible damage to their bodies and are unaware of the dangers of alcohol,” she said.

Derry Today