Sinn Fein spokesperson on Addiction, Recovery and Wellbeing Thomas Gould TD has called on the Minister for Justice to reconsider her stance on drink delivery services.

Teachta Gould said: “Drink delivery services have been problematic for some time but they have become a serious issue during Covid. Delivering drink to people underage, people overly intoxicated and vulnerable people in addiction should be stopped and the sector needs to be regulated.

“I asked the Minister her plans to address this issue. She acknowledged that some issues may have arisen due to Covid in relation to drink delivery – these may be temporary and so don’t need regulation. Whether they are temporary or not, they are affecting people’s lives and the Minister should want to stop this.

“The Minister suggested that shops and off-licences could use video technology to detect a person’s age before purchasing. We all know that self-regulation is no regulation and she needs to put this on paper. 

“Underage alcohol delivery is not the only issue. Increased isolation and purchasing alcohol when overly intoxicated are other serious scenarios regularly occurring because of this lack of regulation. Many of these services are operating 24 hours a day and delivering drink at all hours of the morning.

“The Minister has a chance to implement regulations. She is refusing to do so despite acknowledging this is an issue.”