Irish Wine Association takes aim at Alcohol Bill
The Irish Wine Association (IWA) is the latest group to take aim at the controversial Alcohol Bill, voicing strong opposition to the labelling proposals contained therein.
Print15 December 2017
The Irish Wine Association (IWA) is the latest group to take aim at the controversial Alcohol Bill, voicing strong opposition to the labelling proposals contained therein. It calls the proposals “draconian”, saying the bill will have a devastating effect on Ireland’s wine importers. The labelling changes proposed in the bill will mean less choice for consumers, an increase in business costs and potentially higher prices.
Here at ShelfLife, our focus on the Alcohol Bill has mainly revolved around the issue of structural separation, but there are several other sections that have their own issues. The bill proposes mandatory cancer warning labels on all alcohol products sold in the Republic of Ireland. The IWA says this proposal, along with other labelling requirements, will effectively mean an ‘Irish only’ label for all alcohol products sold in the Republic of Ireland, including imported alcohol.
What this means is that wine producers all over the world would be forced to print and produce labels specifically for the Irish market, and to ship and store these wines separately. This will inevitably add to costs for producers, and thus drive up prices – already among the highest in Europe due to enormous excise costs.
Making special accommodations for a small market like Ireland is both costly and inefficient, the IWA says, and may even cause smaller producers to stop selling in Ireland altogether.
“The alluring charm of wine is the variety that is on offer for consumers,” said Jim Bradley, chair of the IWA and also Febvre & Company. “Today, Irish consumers are more sophisticated when it comes to food and today they are blessed with an array of some of the world’s finest wines.
“This is a damaging piece of legislation,” he added.
“While the wine industry fully supports the objectives of the Alcohol Bill, to tackle harmful drinking and underage consumption, it is important that any measures that are introduced as evidence-based. The evidence that the Department of Health has presented on the Alcohol Bill’s effectiveness to tackle alcohol misuse is questionable at best.”
The Alcohol Bill could be interpreted as a barrier to the free movement of goods within the European Union, Bradley said.
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