Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is nobody in this House or in this country who does not know about the damage that alcohol does to people. I am sure we have all seen it at first hand inside or outside our families. At the same time, we have to be reasonable. Below-cost selling is part of the problem. I was in a shop the other day where one could buy two cans of lager for the price of one bottle of coke. It cost €2.50 for a bottle of coke and €2.50 for two cans of lager. If that is not creating problems, I do not know what is. It is something that really needs to be addressed.

I do not think cancer labelling will stop people drinking. Somebody asked me to get two packets of cigarettes the other day and take them out into the country where I was going. Thank God I stopped smoking 15 years ago. When I got the cigarettes, I saw the pictures on the packets depicting what cigarettes can do when they lead to cancer. I asked the person for whom I was getting the cigarettes whether he had looked at the pictures. He said he does not pass any heed of them. My God above, if that type of warning does not frighten people, I do not know what will. In that context, I would like to get clarification on the requirement to divide the label into sections of one third and two thirds.

Since 2011, the only jobs that came to my home town in County Sligo were those created by two young men who started a microbrewery. Today, they employ 30 people. The product is not sold very much in this country but it is being exported. It is doing very well and the company hopes to increase the number of staff by 20. In Drumshanbo a man took a chance on buying a closed-down jam factory and started making gin, Gunpowder Gin. The distillery employs over 30 people today. The man intends to employ many more. The product is sold across Ireland and in 50 countries globally. This is the current position on small breweries and distilleries. In Sligo, on the shores of Lough Gill, there is a proposal for a distillery. In fact, the whiskey is there already. There is to be a €25 million investment, which is to create at least 100 jobs. I am making these points because of the economic benefit of microbreweries and distilleries in the area I represent. There is another brewery starting out in Sligo and it currently has 15 staff.

We need to have a balanced approach to labelling. On the one hand, the Government is encouraging new distilleries and whiskey-related tourism, seeing it as an important driver of rural development. It is and there is no doubt that it means significant growth for the economy. Some 2.5 million visitors visited distilleries and breweries right across the country this year. In my home town, there was an open day at the brewery. Irish Rail ran a special train and 1,500 people turned up at the small brewery. To be quite honest, I do not understand it. I do not know what the people see in it but it is a growing tourism business. We should not do anything that would do any damage to that.

I fully accept the damage alcohol does. As Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick said, people have choices. While 99.9% of people can go out and enjoy a drink, there are those who cannot. Unfortunately it takes a grip on a percentage of people and causes havoc in houses across the country. I ask the Minister for clarification on the two thirds–one third ratio on the labels that will be put on bottles.

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