Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I endorse the comments of Senators Mulherin and Noone regarding large retailers. To be fair to all sides, I will note that we have responsible retailers and consumers, which we should recognise in this debate. This Bill is an opportunity. If we want to wage a war on alcohol abuse - a war of which we are all supportive - we must target the large retailers that are shifting vast volumes of alcohol in a certain way. Rarely if ever have I seen crates of beer, spirits and so on leaving the smaller shops that people are concerned about. If I am honest, though, I have seen it many times in respect of large retailers. They have promotional and advertising power. In the coming weeks, there will be direct mailings to every house in the country of coloured brochures with pages and pages of alcohol products. Children will see them just as adults will.

We must target the area that will reap the maximum benefit in terms of eradicating alcohol abuse. If the Minister of State is prepared to listen to us, this is an opportunity for every Senator to shape the legislation in a way that can achieve that objective by targeting volume rather than smaller retailers, who are often known to people in the community and have a responsible approach to the sale of alcohol. If we do this together, we can introduce ground-breaking legislation. I acknowledge the considerable work done on the legislation by the Minister of State, the previous health committee and others but we must be careful not to cause unintentional impacts on responsible consumers, of which there are many, and responsible retailers. A balance is to be struck but I support the targeting of large retailers who, without whim or favour, target families with significant advertising. They are the bodies which shift the volumes of beer and spirits that are causing problems.