Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. I welcome the Deputies' intention with this Bill and thank those who have contributed to the debate this afternoon. What has been said here makes a lot of sense; however, the Government is opposing the Bill. This is primarily on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence at this time to determine the health impacts of low- and no-alcohol products and their promotion through advertising. Our Public Health (Alcohol) Act is recognised across the world as groundbreaking and progressive. It was painstakingly built on public health evidence on the harms of alcohol and the best interventions to reduce those harms. Consumption levels among our adults and children are decreasing; however, we continue to work to reduce those levels. The remaining measures in the Act will come into operation, and those measures already in operation are being evaluated to determine their effectiveness in reducing alcohol consumption and harm. The potential harms and benefits of the advertising of zero-alcohol and low-alcohol products remain unclear. The Minister for Health has taken steps to find the evidence in order to decide on the next steps. She has asked for initial reviews of the evidence on the marketing and branding and on the health effects in relation to zero-alcohol products. These initial reviews will be completed by quarter 3 of this year. When we have those reviews, we will know what more needs to be done and will be able to make evidence-based decisions on this important public health issue.

The Government intends to wait for the evidence, and for that reason the Bill is being opposed.

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