The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, has moved to ban loyalty card discounts on alcohol across all Irish supermarkets to curb excessive consumption.

While previous legislation, which took effect in 2023, banned loyalty card points from being used on alcohol, many supermarkets got around it by leveraging their loyalty cards, such as Tesco Clubcard. Loyalty card schemes often offer alcohol discounts at checkout through existing memberships.

The Minister introduced this as a legislative amendment to the previous Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. 

This is due to come into effect in 18 months’ time, meaning the earliest we will see enforcement by the HSE is March 2028.

CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland, Dr Sheila Gilheany, who has long advocated for alcohol safety in Ireland, told The City: “There’s no technical reason why it should be taking 18 months”.

The wait raises concerns, as it gives the industry time to implement other ways to prevent the legislation before it is put in place. 

As of 2026, Drinkaware, a national charity which works to prevent and advocate against alcohol misuse, has reported that 55% of Irish drinkers drink at home, so while alcohol related harm becomes less visible, it is more concentrated.  

A Tesco supervisor, who wished to remain anonymous, said that: “Customers tend to opt more for alcohol products that are included in the Clubcard offers.” 

They also mentioned that alcohol sales could “decrease significantly” with the ban on these cards, and that customers often do not buy alcohol products that are not on a Clubcard discount.

Tesco itself declined to comment publicly.

Gilheany has welcomed the ban on loyalty cards. “It is something that we had raised with the minister ourselves on several occasions since the original legislation came into place,” she said.

The 2018 legislation was comprised of measures which range from advertising to loyalty point usage, and as Gilheany said, “But almost immediately, when that came into play, what the supermarkets did instead was to say, Well, if you’re in the loyalty club, you can buy alcohol at a discounted rate.”

In her view, the most important distinction this ban makes is that alcohol is no longer an “ordinary product” and is “not the same as buying any other grocery product like bread or milk”.

“It is separate, and it should be seen as separate,” Gilheany said. “Ireland certainly had a big problem with alcohol; things have improved in some areas, but we still have significant issues.”

Ireland has the highest level of binge drinking amongst OECD countries, and in combination with the risk of how alcohol is consumed, it points to the need for legislation, according to advocates.

“The very stark thing is that four people die every day from alcohol, about 1500 in a year. That’s about 5% of all deaths in the country,” Gilheany said. “And when you have that sort of huge burden that’s been carried essentially by the whole of society, it takes the public health measures.”

This is why Gilheany is advocating for faster implementation. “We should have had labelling introduced this year in May 2026, but it has been postponed until 2028 because of massive lobbying by the alcohol industry.”

Excise duties on alcohol, which have not been changed since 2014, are also a concern, given that in countries such as Australia, duties are increased twice a year due to inflation.

While Gilheany praises the health minister’s ban, she believes it is ‘not enough’ until Ireland establishes increases in excise duty and minimum unit pricing across the country.