Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 17, line 5, to delete "or" where it secondly occurs.

I am one of a number of Deputies who have put this forward. I make no bones about saying I am from the constituency of Cork East and Irish Distillers has a big operation there through the Midleton Distillery and big Irish brands are present, including Jameson. I have a little concern and I hope the Minister can allay those issues with signage.

The whiskey tourism offering is quite strong currently. There are up to 130,000 visitors coming to Midleton annually and they include tourists and other responsible persons who purchase products. There is a massive multiplier effect for the local economy as they spend time in the Cork and south-west region. Forgive me if I am misinterpreting the legislation but I worry that if we are to put in place measures that would prevent signage to distilleries such as that in Midleton, it would serve as an impediment to those visitors. Irish Distillers is a big employer, employing 600 people across four sites. As I said, whiskey tourism is a growing offering as part of the greater tourism spend. I add my voice to the concerns about signage, particularly with respect to visitor centres, which is a key element of the argument.

While I have the floor, I should indicate that I put down an amendment that was withdrawn on Committee Stage relating to cancer labelling. The amendment came about not because I am against labelling per sebut rather because I had reservations about cancer labelling on its own.

I wanted to look at the labelling issue in the round because if one thinks of diabetes, cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, depression, seizures and gout, it is obvious that abuse of alcohol has an impact in the context of a range of illnesses. It was for this reason that I tabled the amendment. I hope, however, if we are to take an approach to labelling, that we would look at all of the illnesses and all of the diseases in the round and that we would not be so prescriptive in the context of cancer. That is merely my worry. I am not against labelling per se. If the Minister could provide an answer in that regard at some stage I would be grateful. I do not wish to delay the passage of this legislation any further.

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