Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last week, I tried to get clarity on a couple of issues but the Minister said I was only being frivolous, which was to talk down to me. I was only asking an honest question. This is the time to clarify this. The total time I have spent contributing on this issue is 20 minutes and we have a right to speak and put forward amendments. There is no point clarifying matters when the horse has bolted.

There is still confusion over the directional signage. It came up during the debate last week when the Minister claimed that directional signs to visitor centres would be unaffected by any of the provisions of the Bill. I am concerned that this is not the case and raise the matter once again. Cork South-West is home to Blacks Brewery, West Cork Distillers and West Cork Brewing Company. These small enterprises play a huge part in enhancing west Cork's reputation as a key tourism destination. Blacks Brewery in Kinsale is located close to St. Multose national school and directional signs to its visitor centre would have to be removed from the town under the provisions of the Bill. The West Cork Brewery in Kinsale also boasts a visitor centre. Its capacity to advertise that visitor centre would also be affected by the Bill. These are issues which need to be clarified.

I should mention at this stage that I have a conflict of interest as two of my brothers have public houses in west Cork, one in Bandon and one in Bantry. My daughter depends on the pub business also as she works in one. That connection is not influencing me in any way, however. I will make my own decisions here.

With regard to advertising restrictions, I highlight in particular the impact these provisions will have on imported publications. That important point has yet to be touched on. It will be unlawful for any magazine imported into Ireland for sale and distribution to be sold unless it meets the specific criteria set out in sections 13 and 18, including the specified health warnings and recently added cancer warnings. How will this measure be enforced? Does the Minister expect that imported publications will be redesigned completely? Will their alcohol advertising satisfy the requirements of the Bill? Will the Department go through Time, Vogueor National Geographicand tear out the pages? Will the Minister instruct magazines across the world that they will not be allowed to advertise their beer or will they have a clear run at advertising their products in our country without any of these warnings? It creates a very unfair playing pitch. We want real clarity on this issue. Requiring newspapers and magazines from the UK and elsewhere in the EU to redesign their alcohol advertisements to meet the specific criteria in the Bill will place costs on these publications equivalent to a barrier to trade within the EU and breach Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. I ask the Minister to consider removing the cancer warnings from these advertisements.

I will move to my final remarks. While it is democratic to put forward amendments, it would not be to spend too much time speaking to them. Last week, the Minister said he spoke to several expert groups and individuals about this. He named 20 or 30. The people are crying out, however, and asking in regard to the hundreds of thousands on waiting lists why the Minister is not talking to experts and taking action on waiting lists. What about the 50,000 people who need eye surgery as a matter of urgency, some of whom are going blind? Deputy Healy-Rae and I are taking them to the North of Ireland. They are going blind on the Minister's watch.

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