DUP Blocks Alcohol Minimum Pricing in NI

0:00It's March 25, Europe news today starts now, AI-powered and pan-European, I'm Cory with the story. The Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland is blocking a push for minimum unit pricing on alcohol, leaving the region without a floor price for, cheap booze and stores. Health Minister Mike Nezbitz bill aimed to tackle strong, low-cost drinks, but DUP actions at the executive level have derailed it, making Northern Ireland an outlier compared to the rest of the UK and Ireland. Deputy First Minister Emma Littlepengaly denies her party vetoed the plan outright, but she questioned the evidence that minimum pricing actually cuts alcohol use. DUP spokes people point to a 2023 public consultation showing widespread opposition, arguing it would grab headlines without real help. For problem drinkers, you'd think that DUP with its roots in free Presbyterianism would champion curves on what some leaders once called the devil's buttermilk. Yet ties to the drinks industry seem stronger now, as seen in past rejections of pub licensing

1:03reforms by their community's minister. Alcohol deaths in Northern Ireland tell a grim story, up over 65% since 2013 to 341 last year. With most from liver disease, former DUP Health Minister Jim Wells revealed party resistance before, blaming drinks lobbyists and worries over impacts on working class loyalists. Areas, this standoff raises tough questions about priorities, as lives hang in the balance while the debate drags on without clear alternatives from the DUP.