Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to those who made earlier presentations for not being here; I was here earlier but had to leave to attend another meeting but my colleague, Deputy Dooley, was present.

I must advise the representatives that I have always been deeply uncomfortable about drinks sponsorship of sporting activities. Behind the glamour and facade of glamour that is presented, I keep thinking about the people who are lying in hospital beds as a result of the abuse of alcohol. Even today a significant article in today's edition of the Irish Independent tells of children as young as 15 years of age ranging up to those in their middle 40s who are suffering from liver disease. The incidence of liver disease has doubled in this country since 1995. I often wonder whether any of the representatives take any responsibility for that. Does it ever impact on them when they are sitting around having discussions with Horse Racing Ireland and everybody else the damage that the abuse of drink has on people not only in Irish society but generally? That is my question and I direct it to Mr. O'Brien. Does he have any responsibility for that? He is one of the major players in the Irish drinks market. What does his group do in terms of health promotion or helping those who are involved in trying to stem the flow in that respect? Irrespective of his statistics, the overall figure might be decreasing but that does not take form the reality that more and more people are suffering as a result of the abuse of drink. He can say that is their choice but the glamorous way in which drink sponsorship is presented goes a long way towards creating the scenario we are in. With the industry having been severely restricted in how it can present drink on television and the printed media, the better option for it is to present it in a glamorous way.

I am concerned as well about thresholds and I would like Mr. O'Brien to also answer this question. In view of the restrictive nature of the manner in which the industry presents drink, particularly in television advertisements, there was a certain age threshold that was supposed to be used by models. I believe that age threshold has been breached regularly. It has come down further and further to the point where it is now hitting those who are in their late teens and early 20s.

We have heard from Horse Racing Ireland about all the money that is being put into the industry, how important it is and that it would be terrible if a race such as the Hennessy Gold Cup were to be lost. Any of the representatives who are involved in commercial sponsorship will know that branding constantly changes. One of the most popular games in the world is soccer and the premiership in England changes its sponsorship regularly. Other premiership national leagues across Europe and the world regularly change their sponsorship. In Ireland, the League of Ireland changes its sponsorship. I do not know what is the problem in that regard. If that race is not going to be called the Hennessy Gold Cup, it would be called something else.

The figure of €35 million in respect of sponsorship was mentioned. Does that figure represent the totality from sponsorship in sport in Ireland or only the sponsorship accruing from the drinks industry?

I do not want to single out Horse Racing Ireland but I would agree with Mr. Peter O'Brien that of all the sporting activities, horse racing is probably the one that I would be least concerned about in terms of health impact from sponsorship. Would I be right in saying that Horse Racing Ireland does not have any great difficulty in getting sponsorship, that people would be queuing up to offer sponsorship because it is a branded product? I refer particularly to many of the multinationals, that are of a non-drink nature, as it were, that have located in this country in recent years. Is there any doubt in his mind that the group will not continue to get drink sponsorship given that those multinationals see it as one of the very few areas where they can promote their products?