Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The making of regulations to require labelling of alcohol containers is already provided for in section 22 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003. This legislation permits the making of a statutory instrument specifying particulars to be affixed to containers at off-licence premises in which alcohol is sold for consumption thus enabling the premises concerned to be identified.

While the labelling of containers might on first sight appear to be an attractive solution, significant challenges need to be overcome to render it effective in practice. There are practical difficulties at retail level where several individual containers are packaged together for sale, namely, an enclosed six-pack of bottles, a plastic wrapped tray of cans or a nailed wooden box containing bottles of vintage wine. This inevitably raises the question of whether the label should be attached at an earlier stage in the supply chain rather than at the point of retail sale. Attaching such labels at an earlier stage could create logistical difficulties for distributors and, in the case of imports from European Union countries, any additional labelling requirements might be regarded as infringing the European Community's Internal Market rules which are intended to guarantee the free movement of goods and services.

Even if such logistical difficulties could be overcome, an equally important concern is whether or not any such additional labelling requirements would improve enforcement of the law. It is clear that possession by an under-age person of a labelled container could not in itself constitute proof that the alcohol contained therein had been illegally supplied to him or her by the licensee whose particulars appear on the container. The alcohol in question might have been taken from a family home or could have been sold to a person over the age of 18 years before being passed to the under-aged person. Indeed, a labelled container might have changed hands several times before finding its way into the hands of the under-age person in whose possession it was found.

The Attorney General's office has expressed serious doubts about the evidential value of possession of a labelled container and doubt is therefore cast on the benefits of any regulations made under the 2003 Act. For these reasons, I have taken the view that regulations under section 22 would not be worthwhile. However, I would be prepared to give serious consideration to any reasonable and workable alternative.