Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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190. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of occasions on which he has been lobbied in respect of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill since March 2016; the persons he has met with; the dates of these meetings; the details of the basis of the lobbying; his views on the issues raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42292/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Neither my predecessor as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, nor I have held any meetings specifically on the subject of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill during the period in question.

However, the broader issue of alcohol policy was raised with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the context of two meetings since March 2016 regarding the UK’s departure from the EU. At both meetings, there was no substantive discussion on alcohol policy and the exchanges remained focused on Brexit.

The first occasion on which alcohol policy was raised was at a meeting regarding Brexit between Minister Flanagan and representatives of Diageo (Oliver Loomes, Dan Mobley, Liam Reid) on 5 October 2016. The second occasion was a meeting I held regarding Brexit with the Food and Drink Ireland group (IBEC) on 26 September 2017. Those in attendance from Food and Drink Ireland were Colin Gordon, Maurice Hickey, Oliver Loomes, Jim Woulfe, Philip Tallon, Philip Carroll, Patricia Callan, Paul Kelly, Kevin McPartlan, Conor Mulvihill and Joe Ryan.