Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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268. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the implementation of each of the outstanding sections of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. [29395/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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23 of the 31 sections of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 were commenced in November 2018. Work on commencement of the remaining substantive provisions of the Act was interrupted in March due to the pandemic. Those provisions are:

- Section 4 Applicant to provide written notice to Executive:

Work with the Courts Service and the HSE to agree processes remains to be completed before this section can be commenced.

- Section 11 Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol Products:

The 2013 Government Decision which approved the implementation of minimum unit pricing envisaged that it would be introduced in the Republic and in Northern Ireland simultaneously to allay concerns that its introduction in the one jurisdiction only would impact cross-border trade.

On 29 July this year the Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann committed to a public consultation on the introduction of minimum unit pricing in Northern Ireland.

- Section 12 Labelling of alcohol products and notices in licensed premises and section 13 Content of Advertisements:

Regulations setting out the detailed requirements in relation to the labelling and advertising of alcohol products must be drafted before these sections can be commenced. The drafting of these Regulations was underway but was interrupted in March. When the draft regulations are finalised by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel they will be submitted to the European Commission for assessment as to whether they are in alignment with Single Market principles.

- Section 18 Advertisements in publications:

The commencement of this provision is dependent on the commencement of all advertising sections of the Act.

- Section 19 Broadcast Watershed:

Work with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the HSE remains to be completed before this section can be commenced.

- Sections 10 and 21 are not substantive and can be commenced when related sections have come into operation.