Seanad debates

Thursday, 24 November 2016

10:30 am

Photo of Catherine NooneCatherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many of the well-paid broadcasters in RTE are getting more like ten times our wages.

Regarding the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, there has been much talk about the separation and visibility of alcohol. My concern is that the advertising industry will start to lobby us to reduce the effect the Bill will have on its industry. The objective of the advertising measures contained in the Bill is to protect young people from exposure to alcohol marketing. Research conducted relatively recently by NUI Galway found that more than half of school children reported they were exposed to four or more alcohol advertisements per day. The majority were exposed to traditional or offline advertising while 77% of children were exposed to online advertising. For children, exposure to alcohol marketing, including advertising sponsorship, increases the likelihood of alcohol ending up in their hands and them drinking sooner. The younger a child is when they start to drink alcohol, the greater the risk they will develop harmful drinking patterns later in life.

The Bill will return to the Seanad soon. If there is to be any reduction or removal of measures in the legislation, I hope it will not be a precedent for other industries to start lobbying us. I believe this is only the start of it.

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