Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To respond to Deputy Durkan's comments, our regulations will be submitted to the Commission. There will be an identification of calories on the label. There will be also a link about alcohol and health issues pointing to the HSE website at the bottom of the label.

As to the question of who is responsible for the health labelling of alcohol products, the Department sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General so that we might be able to give Deputies a comprehensive response. The offence under the Bill relates to selling alcohol products within the State without the required warning and information. Any person who sells an alcohol product without the required warning and information can be prosecuted under the section. The range of persons who can be prosecuted includes wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers. If a product is manufactured in the State without the required labelling information and products are sold to a retailer or wholesaler in the State, the manufacturer can be prosecuted. The wholesaler and retailer also may be prosecuted if they sell the product on without the required labelling. It is not an offence to import for sale in the State an alcohol product that does not bear the required information and warning. However, a person who imports an alcohol product that does not have the required labelling and sells the product within the State without affixing the required information and warning will be prosecuted.

Regarding Deputy Donnelly's question, this will be done by way of regulations, which will have to include a provision that labelling will be visible. I have no idea how the label will appear until those regulations are in place. I am sure the questions of what the label looks like, how it will be positioned and how the contents will be visible will be subject to scrutiny, but people should not have to bring magnifying glasses with them to the supermarket just to read the labelling. This matter will be addressed in the regulations.