Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to further develop a couple of the points made by colleagues on the sports sphere. I shall first refer to sports stars who distribute a good public image. I can speak from experience about decent campaigns by the IRFU to encourage sensible or no drinking among players. Donncha O'Callaghan and Peter Stringer are two famous sports stars who abstain from alcohol and they make that very clear distinction when they visit sports groups. They could do with more institutional encouragement for their sensible approach to alcohol, especially in the area of mental health.

I am concerned about the impact of the sponsorship provision in the Bill. How can we regulate for international agreements and competitions with Irish sports bodies, national government bodies, teams and athletes? How can we enforce the provision where contractual agreements exist, be they television deals or otherwise? How can people compete in certain competitions that are sponsored by an alcohol company or brand? What will happen in instances where they compete in international stadia and advertisements are broadcast on to Irish television and people can see hoarding on pitches or jerseys brandishing certain logos? I would appreciate if the Minister of State went into detail about how the provision will be regulated and implemented.