John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The amendments we are discussing relate to promotions and advertising. As Senator Coffey has said, the main sporting organisations have moved away from sponsorship by alcohol companies. The GAA has totally moved away from sponsorship by alcohol companies. The soccer and rugby organisations have not been so successful. They have said, at committee meetings, that they were not in a position to do so. As the economy improves, alternative funding should be identified, thus allowing them to move away from such sponsorship.

There is another aspect of promotion that should be addressed here. If one attends rugby internationals at the major stadia of Croke Park and Aviva, trays of drink will be brought onto the terraces as the match progresses, which looks terrible.I have been a spectator at a number of matches at which people are passing in and out to bring drink in and out. Then they move in and out to go to the toilet and other spectators cannot see the game.

I am not a spokesman for the GAA but I know how it operates. One alternative is a rule to the effect that spectators cannot bring drink onto the terraces, even from corporate boxes. People are precluded from bringing out drink in GAA matches. Such a rule should be put in somewhere, perhaps as a voluntary code. The image of people drinking alcohol as the game progresses is awful, especially for television spectators. It is totally at odds with the sense of health that the sport is producing on the field.