Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to welcome the legislation announced by the Government yesterday and I am glad to see there is at least some support across the House for it. We will come under pressure in the coming weeks from lobbyists on this issue. I hope the backbenchers and Senators who come under pressure will hold tight. I am proud of the commitment we have made with regard to minimum pricing of alcohol. One aspect which was quite validly raised by Senator Wilson is co-operation with Northern Ireland. Most discussions I have heard in recent hours have missed one important point. The Minister stated that there was an agreement with Northern Ireland that similar measures would be introduced at the same time, so that a cross-Border trade in cheap alcohol would not further develop. This vital point, which has been overlooked in much of the commentary I have heard, is an important element of what is very well thought-out legislation.

Elements of the Bill include provisions to prevent the sale of cheap alcohol, which is the headline issue, health labelling and warnings, which are also very important, including calorie counts, powers for environmental health officers to enforce the separation of alcohol within stores and to police minimum unit pricing, the legal regulation of sports sponsorship, which will be difficult, and restrictions on the advertising and marketing of alcohol, including a broadcast watershed. The Bill would also make it illegal to market alcohol in a manner that is appealing to children. I have called in the Chamber for all of these measures, on which the Government seems to be taking action, and I am delighted. The tabloids will report this as the end of cheap drink, but it is simply a package of mechanisms, including calorie counts and restrictions on advertising, to ensure that people treat alcohol responsibly and prevent it from becoming just another commodity that they casually pick up in the supermarket. As with the legislation on plain packaging of cigarettes, lobbyists will pile pressure on our backbenchers in the coming weeks, particularly ahead of an election, but I encourage everyone to hold the line and support these actions, which are badly needed.