Drinks groups welcome new Public Health Alcohol Bill
The Bill covers the issues of minimum unit pricing, health labelling and availability of alcohol including enforcement powers for Environmental Health Officers
Print4 February 2015
The government has signed off on the Heads of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015. Despite the fact that the Heads themselves are not legally binding, drinks groups believe that this is a landmark announcement signalling the government’s intent to regulate alcohol as a public health matter for the first time.
The Bill covers the issues of minimum unit pricing, health labelling and availability of alcohol including enforcement powers for Environmental Health Officers.
The National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) says that this represents a major breakthrough in its campaign to even the playing field between independent off-licences and supermarkets.
Evelyn Jones, government affairs director, NOffLA said: “Hard work will still need to be undertaken to push this Bill through and ensure it is not diluted by other interests. For our part, we have welcomed the Bill and reminded the government that for MUP to be effective, it must be set at 70c per unit. “Furthermore, we commend the government on its decision to introduce the structural separation of alcohol from other products under Section 9 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 with adequate enforcement power. Structural separation will provide for the clear demarcation of alcohol from other grocery products so that they are not available to under-age purchasers.”
Alcohol Action Ireland also welcomed the proposals. Suzanne Costello, CEO of the group said: “Measures to implement minimum unit pricing, new enforcement powers for Environmental Health Officers, and health labelling of alcohol products are all welcome and will have a significant impact.
“The decision to place the existing ineffective ‘voluntary code of practice for sponsorships for drinks companies’ on a legislative footing is a significant weakness in the proposal and we call on the Minister to re-examine this measure before the bill is published in full. It remains to be seen if the alcohol industry will take a legal challenge with regard to this legislation, specifically minimum unit pricing, as they have done in other jurisdictions.”
The Alcohol Federation of Ireland (ABFI), the association which represents alcohol manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland, said that a new era of engagement must prevail in order to bring about a real and sustained cultural change in patterns of alcohol misuse in this country.
Ross Mac Mathúna, director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland said: “We are committed to responsible marketing of our products and we are already subject to some of the most stringent co-regulatory codes of practice on alcohol marketing and sponsorship anywhere in the world.
“We welcome the move towards statutory codes – and had proposed their introduction – and we look forward to working with government on these. The reality is that legislation is not nimble enough to regulate modern communications.
“We hope that today can mark the beginning of a new era of engagement, where all of the relevant parties, from drinks manufacturers and suppliers, to publicans, the supermarkets, government departments and medical bodies can come together to devise and implement evidence-based solutions that will have a lasting impact on alcohol misuse in this country.”
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