Duty-free stores exempt from Irish liquor bill

Nicole Mezzasalma

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A new draft bill on liquor published on June 4 excludes Ireland’s duty-free stores from its provisions

The Irish government has published a new version of a draft bill proposing that liquor should be segregated from all other product categories in a walled-off section wherever it is sold, as DFNIonline reported exclusively in May. The new draft includes a derogation exempting all duty-free stores in the country from the provisions in the bill, which still needs to be discussed by the appropriate committees and approved by the Irish parliament before it comes into force.

An industry source told DFNIonline: “This is a fantastic result for Dublin Airport Authority and the duty-free industry in Ireland. It is clear that duty-free stores won’t now be affected by the Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008, which would be bad for Ireland and would set a dangerous international precedent. A serious danger has been lifted.”