The Junior Health Minister says he hopes to have a minimum price for alcohol in place by the middle of next year.
Alex White opened a conference on Alcohol and its affect on mental health in Dublin earlier - where groups came together to discuss harmful drinking.
Last month, the Government laid out the national substance misuse strategy - the central plank of which is the introduction of minimum prices per unit of alcohol.
Minister Alex White says that part of the delay is to do with agreeing on pricing with the authorities in the North.
Campaigners have expressed frustration at the pace of change, something Minister White agrees with:
