The National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) has announced the appointment of Gary O’Donovan as its new Chairperson and Cathal McHugh will become Vice-Chair. Outgoing Chairperson, Evelyn Jones, will remain with the Association as Government Affairs Director.

Speaking on the announcement, Gary O’Donovan stated:

“I am very pleased to accept this role and would like to thank Evelyn for her ongoing work as Chairperson. As a long standing member of NOffLA and former Vice-Chairperson, I look forward to working with the management team and broader membership base to build on the success to date.”

“Reversing the decline of the independent off-licence sector will be a key priority during my tenure, as will be seeking to have the ban on below cost selling of alcohol reinstated. I will continue to work with, and on behalf of, existing members while developing our membership base”.

“I am particularly delighted to announce that Evelyn Jones will remain with NOffLA assuming the role of Government Affairs Director to continue her work at government and stakeholder level. Between Evelyn and Cathal McHugh, NOffLA’s new Vice-Chair, the Association is renewed with fresh impetus and experience to represent our members.”

Explaining her new role, Evelyn Jones said:

“Government Affairs Director is a new role that will allow me to focus solely on the task of engaging with decision-makers to ensure our sector is best represented. Building on the work to date, there are a number of priorities we will be looking to engage with Government on in 2015. These include the publication of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, the introduction of a statutory code of practice for the sale and display of alcohol and a ban on below cost selling of alcohol. Fundamentally I will work with the NOffLA management team on an on-going basis to represent our members and their key issues as independent experts and SME businesses invested in communities across Ireland.”