The Minister for Health has said he is opposed to any deregulation of the drink industry on public health grounds.
Mr Martin was launching a National Alcohol Awareness campaign, a week before the release of figures which will show Irish young people as the heaviest drinkers in Europe.
The Minister said young people were "drinking more, being drunk more often and binge-drinking is a particular phenomenon.
"Whatever about the commercial merits of deregulation, the public health risks are intolerable. Alcohol is no ordinary product. We're not talking boiled sweets here, therefore economic market rules do not and should not apply. Controls must be in place to regulate availability."
Research showed that when alcohol was less easy to acquire, alcohol-related harms went down. "If we make alcohol more easily available through deregulation, then underage drinking and the myriad of problems that come with underage drinking are going to escalate."
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland, representing publicans in Dublin, welcomed Mr Martin's comments on deregulation, and the awareness campaign.
The Minister said he would approach the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland with a view to improvements in its voluntary code for advertising alcohol. These would include a ban on advertising in media where more than 25 per cent of the audience was under age. Mr Martin said if the voluntary code did not work, he would look at statutory measures.
The campaign would continue for three years, at a cost of £500,000 a year, and target three separate groups, 12- to 14-year-olds, 15- to 18-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds. It will include videos and television advertising, and include information for young people of alternatives to alcohol.
Mark Brennock, Political Correspondent adds:
Mr Martin's public opposition to pub deregulation has revealed sharp internal Government differences on the issue.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, has strongly supported the deregulation of the industry and her spokesman last night said her position is unchanged. Last month the Government also implicitly threatened the industry with deregulation unless it acted to control rising drink prices.
Deregulation in this context would involve an end to the restriction on the number of pub licences issued. The regulation of opening hours is a separate issue.
A commission on the licensed trade was set up last year by the Minister for Justice to examine the question of whether more pub licences should be made available. This commission is not expected to complete its work for two years.
There is strong resistance within Fianna Fail to deregulation. The party is traditionally an ally of the industry, with a number of pub owners among its Oireachtas members.
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