Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Keogan for her Private Members' Bill and all the Senators who have spoken. I also welcome our visitors from the Irish Heart Foundation. Their work on this issue and the public health issues relating to obesity and sugar-sweetened drinks is crucial. We have included them in our consultation in the new obesity plan. I thank them. It is very important that they are here today.

I have no doubt that we are all in agreement that protecting our children from consumption of substances that can be harmful to their health, either in the short or the long term, is necessary. The discussion today has been very helpful and has given me a good understanding of the range of concerns Senators have about the potential harmful impact of stimulant drinks on our children and young adults. We have an excellent track record of being at the vanguard of introducing public health measures and legislation to protect our children and young people from health-harming substances. Our public health legislation on tobacco and alcohol control and restrictions is well regarded by many countries.

This Private Members' Bill sets out draft legislation to introduce restrictions on the promotion and sale of stimulant drinks. These are non-alcoholic drinks containing a mix of both caffeine and other stimulating substances, better known as energy drinks. My understanding is that the Senator is concerned about the mental health and behavioural impacts as well as the impact on academic performance. I certainly do not oppose in principle the intent behind the submission of this Bill. However, before considering introducing restrictions, it is important to fully understand the potential harmful impact of consumption of these drinks on children's health and the level of consumption in Ireland by young people, and to fully consider all appropriate policy options. That is the aim. I met the Senator and I have said I would be delighted to work with her and anyone in the Chamber who wants to meet me. There will be absolutely no problem in that regard. The evaluation of the sugar-sweetened drink tax, published in September 2024, found there had been a decrease in carbonated drinks consumption and in the sugar consumption associated with carbonated drinks in Ireland since the introduction of the tax in 2018. However, the exception to this reduction has been energy drinks, which have seen a marked increase in consumption since 2020. The average amount consumed each year between 2009 and 2020 was less than 30 million l. Between 2021 and 2023, however, the amount of energy drinks consumed jumped to more than 40 million l per year. Energy drinks now represent over 10% of total carbonate consumed in Ireland every year.

A worrying trend was that the initial increase in energy drink consumption was accompanied by a significant increase in sugar consumption between 2018 and 2021. However, the sugar consumption from energy drinks has declined since 2021 even as general energy drink consumption increased. This suggests that the more recent increase in energy drinks consumption is largely related to low- or no-calorie energy drinks that fall below the sugar-sweetened drinks tax thresholds.

One of the conclusions of the evaluation of the tax was that the consumption of energy drinks merited further examination, given the significant increase in consumption and possible public health concerns regarding the stimulant components of energy drinks. There are some concerns around the consumption of energy drinks by children, pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers. In EU Regulation No. 1169 of 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, the European Commission set out the requirement that products containing more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre, other than tea and coffee, must be labelled with the caffeine content and the statement: "High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women." Energy drinks are generally covered by this regulation.

There is some scientific evidence that has increasingly linked energy drink consumption in children to a range of adverse health outcomes, including elevated blood pressure, sleep disturbance, behavioural issues, all of which are concerns mentioned by Senators, and, in some cases, cardiovascular complications. This evidence will need to be examined closely. In 2015, the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, published a scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine on foot of a request from the European Commission. It found that for children and adolescents, the information available is insufficient to determine a safe caffeine intake. EFSA therefore based its recommendation for maximum caffeine intake on the adult level of 3 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight per day.

We need to undertake research at a national level to better understand the consumption patterns of children and young adults in Ireland with regard to energy drinks in order to inform policy options. We have spoken about the situation in other EU member states. Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary have introduced legislation banning the sale of energy drinks to persons aged under 18. Poland has also legislated for restrictions on labelling and sales through vending machines. Those member states supported those measures with national data.

A commitment is included in the programme for Government to "explore restrictions on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks, including a ban on their sale to children". The Department of Health is at the very early stages of considering the process by which we deliver on this commitment. I assure Senators that we will deliver on it. It might take 18 months to look at this but I assure Members that we are committed to safeguarding health and well-being and seeking what is best policy and practice to achieve that.

It is essential that a thorough assessment is carried out to evaluate any public health concerns with regard to energy drink consumption by children and young adults in Ireland and to determine appropriate policy measures. Policy measures to address public health concerns regarding energy drink consumption must be grounded in the best available scientific evidence. Adults can make informed decisions about their consumption but children are not miniature adults. Their developing bodies and brains are more vulnerable and they deserve our protection. Just as we limit their access to alcohol, tobacco and gambling, we may need to protect them from potential harms associated with the consumption of energy drinks.

However, if we are to propose regulations to restrict or ban sales to children, such regulations will need to be robust, appropriate and based on the weighing up of the scientific evidence. Successful policy development will require consultation with key stakeholders, particularly those most impacted by energy drink consumption, and scientific experts.We will need to engage with children and young people themselves on this issue. Our undertaking is that we will talk to everyone. We have to get the experts in but we have to engage with children and young people. We need to make sure that we listen to them too. It may be that a range of policy options will be identified and the feasibility, enforceability, long-term position and negative impact of these will need to be assessed. Learning from the experience of those EU member states that have already implemented legislation to restrict or ban the sale of energy drinks to children will be important to us.

At this point, it is too early to consider the draft legislation proposed in the Private Members' Bill, hence the Government's motion to defer the Second Reading for 18 months to allow time to carry out the necessary evidence gathering, research and examination of appropriate policy options and stakeholder engagement, including with the proposing Senator.

I have the privilege of being the Minister of State with responsibility for health and wellbeing. I assure Senators that supporting, protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of our young people is a key priority for me in this Government. I can commit to that. We already have a range of policies and programmes in place to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in Ireland. Many policies and initiatives are under review or development.

The Healthy Ireland framework is under review with a view to developing a new framework in the near future. A new national physical activity framework is due to be launched soon. The online health task force will be making recommendations to the Minister for Health later this year on how to ensure we safeguard our children in a digital world. We have to look at the digital world too. A new obesity policy is currently being developed as the current obesity policy and action plan draws to a close at the end of this year. It is under this plan that the sugar-sweetened drinks tax was introduced, so this will all come in. We will have a new obesity plan in 2026.

I am committed to ensuring that the health of our young people is not compromised by any unhealthy food and drinks. We owe it to the next generation to take brave, evidence-based action where it is needed. We also need to give young people a voice. I look forward to working with colleagues across the House, health experts, academics, parents, educators and young people themselves as we deliver on a programme for Government commitment, which this was, to explore restrictions on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks, including a ban on their sale to children.

I thank Senators and everyone involved for this Private Members' Bill. I have no doubt that we are all in agreement that protecting our children from consumption of substances that can be harmful to their health is necessary. The motion is deferred for 18 months. It is not to stall restrictions. We need to work on this with the Department. The Government has committed to exploring restrictions on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks, including the ban on their sale.

I thank everyone. Everyone spoke about how this concerned the health and future of our children. I am committed, as is the Department. I hope to talk to everyone soon. As I said to Senator Keogan, I will meet her shortly. I have learned that everybody working together can achieve more, which is the aim going forward.