The Minister for Health has said the new legislation on alcohol will reduce emergency department attendances and accidents.
Leo Varadkar also said it will reduce cancers, suicides, assaults, road accidents and absenteeism.
The minimum pricing rate for alcohol under the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will be 10 cents per gram of alcohol.
Mr Varadkar said that minimum pricing was more effective than below cost selling measures.
He said the aim was to get the legislation through by the middle of next year, and it will then be reviewed in three years.
The legislation also plans to ban the advertising of alcohol products near schools, playgrounds and public transport is to be published today.
Under the bill, the advertising, sponsorship and marketing of alcohol products will be subject to prosecutions under the criminal justice system for the first time.
The glamourising of alcohol, or making it appealing to children, would be prohibited.
Warnings about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption in general and during pregnancy will be included in advertisements.
It is also proposed that a 9pm broadcasting watershed will be put in place for advertisements for alcohol.
This will be monitored by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, under a revised code.
Mr Varadkar said: "Ireland needs to change its damaging attitude to alcohol. There's a huge difference between having a drink on occasion with friends, and indulging in regular binge drinking.
"The costs are huge: from the damage to personal health and to society, absenteeism, the burden placed on the health services, public disorder and violence, traffic accidents, and the associated mental health consequences."
"The evidence about Ireland's drinking habits is shocking. Four out of ten drinkers typically engage in binge drinking.
This Bill addresses alcohol as a public health issue for the first time by tackling price, availability, marketing, advertising, and labelling," he added.
A liver specialist and gastroenterologist with Beaumont Hospital said the minimum unit pricing for alcohol is the most important element within the bill.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Professor Frank Murray said the change in the price of alcohol will make a significant difference, as will other measures in the Bill.
However, he said there is no one single "silver bullet" to eliminate alcohol misuse.
Prof Murray said minimum pricing will target young people and problem drinkers who consume cheap spirits.
"It is frightening that three people die every day in Ireland as a result of our harmful relationship with alcohol," said Prof Murray.
"That's 88 deaths a month and more than 1,000 people who are lost to their families every year. This is five times more than the number of road deaths every year.
"Surely it is time to take radical action to tackle the way we drink," he added.
IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, said the new Alcohol Bill fails to provide effective measures to tackle the serious problem of alcohol misuse, but instead penalises responsible consumers and a sector that provides valuable employment across the country.
IBEC CEO Danny McCoy said: "Alcohol misuse is a serious problem that demands a coordinated, effective response. The new Alcohol Bill fails in this regard.
"The measures proposed on the advertising, marketing and pricing of alcohol will not address the problem.
"Instead they will penalise the majority who consume alcohol responsibly, along with an important sector that provides quality employment across the country.
"A collaborative approach that involves government, public health authorities, industry and all other stakeholders is required if we are to make real progress," Mr McCoy added.
