Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will address the overall point of the amendment first and then address some of the comments that were made. The first ministerial amendment deals with the commencement dates of the Bill, which will be introduced on a phased basis. The amendment sets out commencement dates that now include sections 12 to 19 of the Bill regarding advertising. The commencement dates were determined following a targeted consultation process with the industry. Due account was taken of the time required to develop advertisement campaigns and the time span of sponsorship deals. It is proposed that subsections 1 to 3 of section 12 regarding warnings in advertisements and sections 13 and 18, which provide for the prohibition of alcohol advertisements in certain places and the restriction on advertising in cinemas, will have a lead-in time of one year following commencement. It is also proposed that subsections 7 to 11 of section 12 regarding the content of advertisements and sections 14 and 15, which provide for the restriction on advertising during events and sponsorship, will have a lead-in time of three years following commencement. Section 17, which provides for restrictions on the advertising of alcohol products in publications that are subject to some exceptions, has a lead-in time of 18 months following commencement.

It is also proposed to introduce a new section providing for a watershed for the broadcasting of alcohol advertisements on television and radio as provided for in Government decision, S180/20/101801. This provision will have a lead-in time of one year following commencement. The officials at the Department of Health and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel are reviewing the requirements to commence similar provisions in the Bill at the same time and as such, this section may be revisited on Report Stage.

In respect of some of the points that were made, print media will come up under section 17. Minimum alcohol pricing will come later as well in respect of minimum unit pricing. Senator Norris made a point about section 1. This will delete section 1 so there will not be any duplication.