Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the interests of brevity, we will support amendments Nos, 17, 19 and 24, tabled by Senator Nash, and I will not move amendments Nos. 16 and 18.

This measure is vital, especially for women in terms of the direct correlation between the incidence of breast cancer and increased alcohol consumption. Senator Craughwell and several other Senators spoke a lot about education. Education has been one of the ways to get this message across to allow informed decision-making by individuals when it comes to drinking or not drinking at all and to allow them, where they are informed, to help family members. We need, however, to put this information on the product itself. It is done with every other product. Let us make the drinks industry be responsible as well and make it pay for that health information. It should not always have to be our own public health service that does it.

We spoke about what advertising campaigns need to do to get this information across.When it comes to deaths that are caused by over-consumption of alcohol, the drinks industry also needs to take its responsibilities seriously. We do not want anything along the lines of the superficial Drinkaware campaign, which is steered, supported and, perhaps, manipulated by Diageo. I ask the Minister to take this measure into consideration and to agree to it. Let us get some money from the drinks industry to carry out this advertising and education campaign.