Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will address some of the questions Senator Buttimer raised. I thank him for raising this matter.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Act was enacted on 17 October 2018. On 1 November the Minister, Deputy Harris, commenced 23 of its 31 sections. Some of these sections have already become law. By restricting the advertising and promotion of alcohol, they are changing the environment in which our children will grow up.

Last November three of the advertising provisions of the Act came into force. One provided that alcohol advertising in or on public service vehicles and at public transport stops and stations was prohibited. Alcohol advertisements were also prohibited from within 200 m of a school, crèche or local authority playground. Alcohol advertising in cinemas was prohibited except in a licensed area and around films with an 18 certificate. Children's clothing that promotes alcohol was banned.

Next year, on 12 November, our supermarkets and other mixed retail outlets will look different as alcohol products and their advertising will be confined to either a single area of the shop which will be separated by a 1.2 m high barrier, or storage units in which alcohol products cannot be seen up to a height of 1.5 m, or a maximum of three standard storage units with no visibility restrictions. In addition to these areas of the shop, alcohol products will be allowed to be stored, but not be visible, in a unit behind the counter.

From 12 November 2021 there will be a prohibition on alcohol advertising in sports areas during sporting events, at events that are aimed at children or at events in which the majority of participants or competitors are children. Alcohol sponsorship of events which are aimed at children or events in which the majority of participants or competitors are children will also be prohibited. Finally, driving or racing events involving motor vehicles will no longer be allowed to be sponsored by alcohol companies from November 2021.

Eight sections of the Act have yet to be commenced. These include section 12, on the labelling of alcohol products, and section 13, on the content of advertisements for alcohol products. These two sections will not be commenced until the regulations which must be made under them have been finalised and submitted for assessment at EU level. Once those regulations have exited the EU process, the Minister, Deputy Harris, will commence the sections. Businesses will know well in advance exactly what their obligations will be in respect of the labelling and advertising of their products.

We are determined to implement minimum unit pricing as soon as possible. When the Government of the day approved the drafting of a Public Health (Alcohol) Bill in 2013, it specified that implementation of minimum pricing should happen simultaneously both north and south of the Border in order to meet concerns about possible impacts on cross-Border trade. The suspended Administration in Northern Ireland has meant that our colleagues have not been able to progress their legislation. The coming weeks may see developments in this regard, but if the implementation of minimum unit pricing continues to be delayed, the Minister for Health intends to seek a revised Government decision to allow minimum pricing to be implemented here without the need for simultaneous implementation in Northern Ireland.

I met the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport at the British-Irish Council and we discussed minimum unit pricing. One thing he said was that since Scotland had brought it in, it had resulted in a huge reduction in the amount of cheap alcohol sold, particularly to young and more vulnerable people. He also said there was no evidence of people crossing from Scotland into England to buy cheaper alcohol there.

The health and well-being of our young people is very important, and we all know the difficulties they face and the pressures on them. Today we see many young people drinking a lot earlier, even at the age of 11 or 12, so it is really important that when we take legislation such as this through the Seanad or the Dáil we act as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, what has happened in the North has delayed the implementation of minimum unit pricing. I am assured by the Minister, Deputy Harris, however, that he will seek a Government decision to allow minimum unit pricing to be implemented as soon as possible. This does not have to be in conjunction with Northern Ireland if the Northern Ireland Assembly is not back up and running by the time of implementation.

I will speak to some of the other points the Senator made in my supplementary response.