I wish to raise a matter of major importance, namely, the defrauding of the State through below-cost selling. This is most prevalent among supermarkets and large retailers. When Tesco, Aldi or any other large retailer sells 24 cans of alcohol for €20, while a nearby retailer is selling at the recommended price of €30, there is a 35% loss of revenue to the State on the €10 differential. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, to come to the House to discuss this issue in the context of tackling the problem of alcohol abuse. The place to start in that regard is the below-cost selling of alcohol, which is a serious issue. It is costing the State a lot of money in lost tax revenue. It is also causing problems in the health service in filling hospital beds. That is the place to start.

I had intended to raise a different issue, but following on from Senator Aidan Davitt's interesting contribution on the below-cost selling of alcohol, I agree that intervention is needed in this area. Something must be done to stop below-cost selling and the best way to do it is to reintroduce the groceries order.

It was ended by Deputy Micheál Martin back in the day, but it should not have been. Alcohol was allowed to become a market driver. People were attracted into shops to buy cheap alcohol, the knock-on effect of which was below-cost selling. The groceries order needs to be resumed to deal with this issue. When Deputy Micheál Martin ended it, he drove this issue-----

In fairness, bread and milk were the issues at the time, not alcohol.

When he drove that issue-----

There were no other retailers such as Aldi or Lidl in the market.

No interruptions, please.

I agree with Senator Tim Lombard's point, but he is not making it correctly.

Deputy Micheál Martin drove people into below-cost selling which caused a major issue.

The Senator is not making his point correctly.

I remind both Senators that the Bill is on the Order Paper and will be fully discussed. Therefore, I will not allow a Second Stage debate on it now. The Senators will have their eight or ten minutes on the issue in the coming weeks and ample time to table amendments.

I look forward to the debate and contributing to it. We must address the kernel of the matter. It cannot be the case that people can buy alcohol more cheaply than water. That is a major issue. We must put a floor on pricing and the only way to do it is by reintroducing the groceries order.