Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I agree with Senator Quinn on this issue. Banning advertising of alcohol on RTE and other Irish television stations will not make a blind bit of difference if there are to be advertisements on Channel 4, ITV and other stations. The approach should be negotiated on a European basis in line with the approach to tobacco advertising in many countries. If an agreement is not negotiated with the United Kingdom, ITV and the other channels will simply take the advertising money from RTE, thus placing it at a disadvantage.

This is not a cut and dried issue and requires considerable thought. The aim of the amendments is desirable but I wonder whether they would achieve their intended goal.