Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State referred to exemptions that may apply to certain print media and they are in a couple of provisions in section 17. Please correct me if I am wrong but that is what I heard her say. I ask her to outline what that means in practice.

Like some of the previous speakers, I feel a little proprietorial about this Bill. I was a member of the previous Government that generated this legislation that is extremely positive from a public health perspective. I look forward to teasing out a couple of particular sections with the Minister of State later in the debate.

I was struck by the comments on currency differential made by colleagues. My constituency, from the point of view of the current market and currency comparisons, would be affected. This is not the legislation to deal with such issues as it deals with a public health matter. I ask the Minister of State to reiterate and remind us what the nature of the proposition is in terms of when the minimum unit pricing order will be made and what direct control she has over the order. The view always was that if the ambition of the Bill was to be achieved, and if we were to adequately protect public health and make the kind of interventions that this Bill proposes in the interest of public health, then we would have to move in step with neighbouring jurisdictions. She is aware of the challenges in that regard. It is important that she puts on record how she intends to address the matter and what ongoing discussions are taking place with, for example, the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government on the timing and choreography of same.