Alex White prepares sponsorship & MUP proposals for Cabinet
Junior Minister for Health Alex White’s proposals on tackling alcohol abuse which include legislating for MUP and banning alcohol sponsorship of major sporting events are reported to be circulating in Government before being taken to Cabinet for final approval.
Print7 June 2013
They include a ban on sponsorship of major sporting events from 2020 and a ban on new sponsorship contracts from 2016.
Senior Government sources were quoted in the Sunday Times recently as stating that the Junior Minister’s proposals had been “tweaked” somewhat and that grass-roots local sponsorship of sports by publicans and drinks companies will be permitted to continue.
Alex White’s memo on banning sponsorship is likely to be opposed by a “big majority” of members on the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee, whose Chairman Fine Gael TD Tom Hayes has suggested that this majority would favour “holding off” on any such decision. This Committee is due to report to Cabinet next week and contained within the proposed legislation is likely to be the structural separation of alcohol sales from other goods such as groceries in supermarkets and similar outlets.
Cabinet “observations” on the revised proposals are expected to be in before the end of the week and a decision is rumoured to be in the offing before the end of June.
However cabinet divisions on the issue appear to continue with Transport and Sports Minister Leo Varadkar still opposed to the idea.
How his colleagues Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, Arts & Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan and the Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte will vote remains to be seen.
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