Kevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the presence of the previous Minister of State, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, who had a role prior to the Minister in bringing this Bill to the House. I have been a Member of the House for a couple of years and this was one of the first Bills brought before us for discussion. We sent it to the Seanad and I assumed that what was sent there would return as more or less what it was with regard to some of the items, until this issue of the labelling and cancer wording arose. I acknowledge that the purpose of the Bill was to tackle alcohol misuse, underage drinking and overall consumption.

Everybody can go into detail about how much alcohol creates cancer. Only a few months ago a tax levy was imposed on sugar. Sugar now has a health warning. We did not put tax on sugar because it was a premium product but because of a health issue and to prevent obesity. Obesity, unchecked, can lead to death. That is a fact. However, are there warnings about taking sugar in moderation on the packets? That is what will happen. Other products have been mentioned and meat could be the next target.

I am trying to suggest that there be some fairness and consideration. The Minister referred to signposting in public premises and pubs. Will it serve a purpose? I doubt that it will serve any purpose in the main pubs in Dublin because they are so packed the people would not get a chance to look at the walls. In rural Ireland, however, the pubs are closing every day. Since 2005, 25% of the pubs in County Cork have closed. Are we trying to put up more barriers to people going into these pubs to have a couple of drinks? We passed the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act which ensures that anybody caught driving while over the limit is penalised. What other penalties are we going to put on our rural pubs to deter people from going into them? The Minister will have to clarify where the signage will be if this Bill is passed. Will it be inside the front door - "Do not come in here for a drink or you will get cancer"? That is just with regard to rural pubs.

Most of my colleagues have referred to those not on the prohibition side. I respect the Members who tabled the amendments. It is ironic that in the last couple of weeks the Members who have introduced amendments to delete something or insert something in favour of relaxing how drink is treated have been castigated in the national press for delaying the Bill. Before we discussed these amendments other Members of the House were delaying the Bill because they wanted to sweeten it more for themselves and to play to some gallery. I am talking about common sense here, not political correctness as might be the case. Perhaps I will be corrected on that but we are using the democratic process to ensure that a fair Bill is eventually signed by Uachtarán na hÉireann and that it can be implemented for the well-being of the people of this country. However, it must be at a respectable level. We cannot go over the top.

How can we have a Minister for Health promoting cancer signs on drink bottles in his office while elsewhere in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and probably in the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation Ministers are jetting around the country giving grants to open distilleries and microbreweries? We have the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine jetting abroad to promote drinks, which are not labelled, beverages and food. Back home, emerald Ireland is like Colombia. We can produce the cocaine but let the world suffer the consequences of it. That is what we are trying to tell the world. People can drink our drink abroad but they cannot drink it in Ireland because it will kill them. Using the analogy of Colombia might be a little too extreme but that is a fact. I heard last week that the Colombians have increased their cocaine production because they have markets throughout the world for it. I know that it is killing people.

In my backyard there are both types of industry, micro and large scale. Irish Distillers has grown tremendously over the last number of years. It provides jobs. It also provides a premium income for tillage farmers. This year the yields from tillage might have decreased a little because of the drought but those who supply Irish Distillers and Heineken Ireland are lucky enough to get a premium price for their grain and it ensures they make a living. We could be jeopardising all of that. Irish Distillers is growing fast. At present, there is a rumour that it might be thinking about relocating to another site, not just for storage but for another distillery because the capacity of its current location is limited.

There is a town in east Cork near Youghal that has been devastated by job losses down through the years. In fairness, Governments have tried to secure replacement jobs but they have had no success. As mentioned by some of my colleagues, rural Ireland will be forever dependent on indigenous industry, including micro-breweries and distilleries.

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