Seanad debates
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
2:00 am
Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
There is an unintended loophole in the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, which came into effect in January 2022 and needs to be amended. The stated intention of the legislation was twofold, namely, to reduce alcohol consumption nationally in a country where we lose an estimated average of four people per day to alcohol-related deaths, and to provide protection for children throughout the country from the exploitative and predatory marketing practices of the drinks industry.
The loophole to which I refer is the targeted marketing of 0.0% alcohol products by alcohol companies in areas where the advertising of the same companies' equivalent alcoholic products is prohibited. One well-known drinks company, which has a close association with the rugby international Six Nations Championship, cited in its annual report of 2024 a 15% year-on-year increase in the sales of its alcoholic products in the venues hosting the matches, while it saw a 26% increase in its sales of non-alcoholic products over the same period, although from a far lower revenue base. It is estimated that 0.0% alcohol products account for less than 2% of revenue generated by drinks companies, while an estimated 25% of their advertising spending is committed to the promotion of 0.0% alcohol products. If accurate, this expenditure is clearly massively disproportionate and needs to be investigated. I ask the Minister for Health to consider the impact of the advertising of 0.0% alcohol products throughout Ireland, particularly in areas where, and at times when, the advertising of alcoholic products is prohibited, and to address the question as to whether this advertising is helping to drive the sales of alcoholic products in Ireland.
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