Seanad debates
Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Legislative Measures
10:30 am
Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit agus maidin mhaith dó. Tá áthas orm gur tháinig sé os comhair an tSeanaid chun an t-ábhar seo a phlé. Chuir mé an ní i dTosach Suíonna seo faoi bhráid an tSeanaid mar go bhfuil deis iontach ann don Rialtas céim a ghlacadh i dtreo chomhionannais sa Stát seo. Tá oidhreacht an-bhródúil ag an iar-Aire Sláinte, an Tánaiste, an Teachta Micheál Martin, leis an gcosc ar thobac a chaitheamh taobh istigh. Léirigh sé ceannaireacht iontach agus leanann an dea-shampla sin i go leor tíortha ar fud an domhain.
Tá an Rialtas seo le moladh go hard as an bplean ceannródaíoch le lipéadú a chur ar alcóil amach anseo. Molaim an tAire Sláinte, an Teachta Stephen Donnelly, go háirithe mar tá sé ag brú ar aghaidh leis an mbeartas seo, i gcoinne bhrú ó thairgeoirí alcóil agus ó thíortha Eorpacha eile. Cosúil leis an gcosc ar thobac, breathnófar ar an gcur i bhfeidhm ar an gcóras lipéadaithe seo go hidirnáisiúnta. Tá gach seans ann go leanfaidh tíortha eile muid amach anseo. Nach mbeadh sé iontach, nuair a labhrófar i dtíortha eile faoi fhorásacht an Rialtais, go bhfeicfeadh siad Rialtas na hÉireann agus an tAire Sláinte ag úsáid na Gaeilge go feiceálach agus go bródúil. Is tír dhátheangach muid agus nílimid cúngaigeanta. Tá deis iontach ag an Rialtas an teanga álainn a úsáid agus a chur os comhair an domhain mhór. Tá sé fíorthábhachtach go n-aithnítear an dhátheangachas sa Stát. Tríd céimeanna mar sin, tá an Rialtas ag normalú úsáid na Gaeilge sa tír seo. Tá sé sin an-tábhachtach ó thaobh cuir chun cinn na teanga as tír.
Teachtaireacht cumhachtach a bheadh ann don phobal labhartha na Gaeilge sa tír seo má gheallann an tAire Stáit go dtabharfar lipéadú dhátheangach le heolas sláinte poiblí ar alcóil. Déantar lipéadú ar fud na hEorpa agus ar fud an domhain i níos mó teangacha ná aon teanga amháin, agus ní chuireann na lipéid mearbhall ar an bpobal. Tá rogha dhátheangach ar thoitíní in Éirinn le blianta fada anuas agus ní chuireann sé sin mearbhall ar dhaoine ach an oiread. I dtaighde ó Millward Brown, léiríonn 63% de na daoine a cuireadh suirbhé orthu go bhfuil siad ar son lipéadú dhátheangach, agus níl ach 10% ina gcoinne. Is féidir liom na sonraí de sin a sheoladh ar aghaidh chuig an Aire Stáit chun breathnú orthu.
B'fhéidir go bhfuil cuma beag ar an scéal seo ach téann na rudaí beaga sin go mór i bhfeidhm ar phobal labhartha na Gaeilge. Cuireann sé leis an méid a dhéanann an Rialtas in áiteanna eile an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn agus an teanga a spreagadh ar fud na tíre. Táim ag súil go mór le ráiteas dearfach ón Aire Stáit.
Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Before I call the Minister of State I would like to welcome the students from Glenageary Killiney National School. They are sixth class students and they are guests of Senator Ward. They are accompanied by Councillor Anna Grainger and some of their teachers. I hope they enjoy the debate.
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I wish the students good morning and it is great to have them here. On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I wish to thank Senator Clifford-Lee for raising this matter. I agree with her point that this is not a small matter and that it is important to people looking at it. In every debate we have to have little bit of balance and talk about all the impacts such a decision would have and I might address that in my response. I take on board that this is an important matter.
The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 was designed to address the harm that can be caused by alcohol consumption. According to data from the Global Burden of Disease study, an estimated 4.8% of our deaths and 5.2% of our disability adjusted life years were attributable to alcohol in 2019. The primary policy objectives of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 are: to reduce alcohol consumption to 9.1 l of pure alcohol per person per annum; delay the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people; reduce the harms caused by the misuse of alcohol; and regulate the supply and price of alcohol to minimise the possibility and incidence of alcohol related harm.
The Act introduces a suite of measures to contribute to a reduction in alcohol consumption and health harms, including: the regulation of advertising and sponsorship; the display of products in mixed retail outlets; and health labelling. Section 12 empowers the Minister for Health to make regulations on the labelling of alcohol products. Under the section, the label of an alcohol product must display the quantity of grams of alcohol in the product and the number of calories. In addition, a label must display: a warning to inform young people of the danger of alcohol consumption; a warning to inform people of the danger of alcohol consumption when pregnant; a warning to inform people of the direct link between alcohol and fatal cancers; and the address of the HSE website, AskAboutAlcohol.ie, which gives information on alcohol and related harms.
The section also requires that the same health warnings and information on the HSE website must be on notices in licensed premises and displayed on websites which sell alcohol. In the case of the notices in licensed premises and on websites, the information must be in both the Irish and the English languages, whereas the information on labels is required in the English language only. During the passage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act through the other House in 2018, there was a debate on whether the information on labels should be in both the Irish and the English languages. In that debate, the then Minister for Health set out that the requirement for information on labels is a new obligation that is being placed on commercial operators and that the intention was that this obligation should be proportionate. The new requirements will move Ireland's alcohol labelling from a position where there is no health information on the product to one where there will be six new pieces of information to display on the label. In order that the obligation on commercial operators would be as minimal as possible, but still achieve its required effect, it was discussed and ultimately agreed in the Dáil that the Irish language requirement would not apply to these labels.
Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Tá an-díomá orm an méid sin a chloisteáil ón Aire Stáit. Tá sé seafóideach mar déanann tíortha eile, ar nós Ceanada agus gach tír eile le dhá theanga, an méid sin gan aon fhadhb. Tá sé maslach amach is amach má chloínn an Rialtas leis an gcinneadh sin. Is féidir leis an Aire athrú a dhéanamh ag an bpointe sin agus níl sé inghlactha go bhfuil an Rialtas ag smaoineamh ar chomhlachtaí móra.Is comhlachtaí móra don chuid is mó atá i gceist. Is comhlachtaí móra iad le buiséid an-mhór. Tá an t-uafás airgid acu. Tá sé inghlactha go bhfuil an Rialtas ag iarraidh céad teanga na tíre seo a chur ar leataobh chun an bealach a éascú do na comhlachtaí móra sin. Tá sé maslach amach is amach agus nílim sásta leis an méid sin. Beidh teagmháil á dhéanamh agam leis an Aire Sláinte chun dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb seo. Níl sé inghlactha go bhfuil an meon seo ag an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Naughton. Tá go leor samplaí eile ar fud an domhain áit a ndéantar seo. Níl sé inghlactha.
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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First, this is not just the view of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, but also the consensus view following the Dáil debate in 2018, when the issue was considered at length.
Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Ag an bpointe sin, ní raibh Fianna Fáil ann. Tá meon an-dhifriúla ag mo pháirtí féin i leith na teanga.
Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Okay, but there was a debate of the entire House, and I do not think we should necessarily talk about what various parties said. There is a collective responsibility within the Government now that this is Government policy. The Senator can, by all means, raise the issue with the Minister for Health.
Wearing my hat as Minister of State with responsibility for agriculture, I should pull up the Senator on the suggestion these are all large companies. They are not. Many microbreweries and small distilleries are setting up and it is an onerous task for them to change the labelling. That is part of the consideration. It is easy to say they are all very large companies and that, therefore, making the changes is fine. I take on board the Senator's upset and sense that the Irish-language element is unfair and wrong, but I am just outlining the process that occurred regarding the decision-making and where it came from. I am sure the matter will be discussed further. These are draft regulations and the prescribed health warnings and information on the HSE website must be in Irish as well as in English, so that is another point. Moreover, warnings in Irish will have to be on notices in licensed premises and displayed on websites that sell alcoholic products also. This will ensure the information will be available in the Irish language at the place of purchase. Our labelling proposals are designed to inform all of us as consumers that alcohol is not a risk-free product. The information on the labels and elsewhere will let us know the health risks attached to alcohol consumption in order that we can make informed choices about that consumption.
I again thank the Senator for raising this important issue.
Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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Níl siad ag freastal ar phobal labhartha na Gaeilge.
Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I apologise but we must move on.