Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's amendments and offer my support for them. I will briefly speak in support of amendment No. 26, which seeks to limit outdoor advertising. I thank Senator Norris, Sinn Féin and my colleagues in the Civil Engagement group for co-signing this amendment. Although I may not press it to a vote today, I seek the Minister's serious engagement on it and I may resubmit it on Report Stage. The Bill, as it stands, seeks to limit the advertising of alcohol in public. I welcome the restrictions for parks, public strands, stations and near schools and playgrounds. A key aim is to reduce the exposure of young people to alcohol advertising, which has a huge impact on the age they start drinking. This is not just a public health measure; it is also a child protection measure. We should be clear about that. We need to be more thorough. If we restrict outdoor advertisements within 200 m of a school, children walking home will still see the advertisement if it is placed 201 m away. The 200 m limit is arbitrary. Why not 150 m or 250 m, for example? I have sympathy with the need to draw the line somewhere but we should realise that outdoor advertising is indiscriminate in nature. Anyone travelling past is exposed to it. We prohibited tobacco advertising outdoors for this reason. It is reasonable and proportionate to do the same with alcohol in the interests of child protection. Tanya Ward, the chief executive of the Children's Rights Alliance, has stated it is an important children's rights issue, that the marketing and advertising of alcohol in Ireland is widespread and self-regulated by the drinks industry, which consistently disputes the link between marketing and increased consumption and that young people are especially susceptible to the influencing of marketing.

Amendment No. 28 concerns the banning of sports sponsorship. Though I may not push it to a vote today, I would like to facilitate a debate on this point and hear from the Minister and colleagues across the House. Katherine Brown of the Institute of Alcohol Studies has stated that alcohol sports sponsorship is used as a clear way past children's bedroom doors. A picture of a sporting hero on the bedroom wall of children links alcohol to sporting success. I will not cite any studies at length but I am happy to share them with my colleagues. Comprehensive evidence shows that alcohol marketing influences young people's perceptions of alcohol, its safety and the likelihood they will start drinking or increase their drinking. This sad reality is that sports sponsorship is a huge part of this. The amendment includes a target of 2023 in an effort to find common ground and to facilitate the Rugby World Cup bid but over time, we should look to cease all alcohol-related sports sponsorship.

We should look to the GAA, an organisation I respect, for leadership in this. In 2004, it took the commendable decision to completely remove alcohol sponsorship and did so in the interest of the thousands of young members across the country. Seán Kelly, who was GAA president at the time and who is now a Fine Gael MEP, said the aim was to change the mindset of the culture particularly among young people. This was a brave move and the GAA now better reflects what sports should be about, which is activity, health, participation and giving young people a place to play, grow and develop. It followed the lead of many youth organisations doing voluntary work across the country that will not take a cent from the drinks industry, such as the National Youth Council of Ireland. It saw its funding cut by 40% during the recession but made a principled stand and continued to address alcohol harm. We still see it, however, in soccer, rugby and many other sports which are steeped in alcohol wherever possible. It creates a culture in which children and young people perceive alcohol consumption to be something closely associated with sporting success and celebration. One school principal told us how he was confronted with this issue when Munster won the H Cup, as it is called in France. He invited the team to visit the school and was delighted that a few team members said they would go. They had a great day but when they arrived with all the sponsorship and drinks advertising he realised that he, as the principal of the school, had brought alcohol advertising to the school and found himself having to apologise to his students for doing so. He was highly annoyed that he had inadvertently brought drink companies through the front door of the school. A ban on alcohol sponsorship of sport would help to protect children from exposure to the relentless promotion of alcohol in Ireland. Phasing out alcohol sponsorship of sport over several years, rather than seeking to implement an immediate ban is a proportionate response and one that would provide our sporting organisations with the time they need to secure replacement sponsors, as the GAA did.