John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am a serious fan of all sports, and I remember not long ago when Formula 1 cars looked more like cigarette boxes with wheels on them going around the tracks. Now we have people telling us the whole world will fall apart if we do not have alcohol companies sponsoring big sports matches and field sports. I will not single out anybody, whether it is GAA, soccer or rugby. We must face up to that reality and it crosses over into Ms Childers's other area of lobbying.

There is much lobbying going on in the corridors of these Houses, but one would not know half the time who is doing the lobbying. Deputy Howlin's legislation will not be a day before its time, when we have the register of lobbyists and who exactly is representing whose interests. We must put the public and community interest first. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Shortall, was circumvented and stopped in her tracks when she tried to make progress in the Department of Health on minimum pricing and advertising of alcohol in certain contexts. What is happening in this regard in European legislation? We will ultimately have to face up to that reality and adapt to best practice in the area of public health regarding alcohol abuse.