Government plans to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol in risk infringing EU rules on free trade, according to an initial ruling by the European Court of Justice.

The court's advocate general Yves Bot said a minimum unit pricing system risked infringing the principle of the free movement of goods and would only be legal if it could be shown that no other mechanism was capable of achieving the desired result of protecting public health.

“A Member State can choose rules imposing a minimum retail price of alcoholic beverages, which restricts trade within the European Union and distorts competition, rather than increased taxation of those products, only on condition that it shows that the measure chosen presents additional advantages or fewer disadvantages by comparison with the alternative measure," the ruling stated.

The ECJ’s ruling followed a law suit by the Scottish Whisky Association challenging Scotland’s proposal to introduce MUP.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland said that it is against the sale of cheap alcohol, adding that a ban on the below cost selling of alcohol is bot the solution to addressing the sale of cheap alcohol.

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“The issues pertaining to alcohol misuse are complex, and cannot be addressed by price alone. The reality is that Ireland already has the most expensive alcohol in the EU.

“We would invite the Department of Health, and the various lobby groups that it funds, to prioritise finding an effective solution to tackle the sale of cheap alcohol; and engaging with us to that end.”