Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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623. To ask the Minister for Health the status of his Department’s efforts to curb binge drinking of alcohol; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46043/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The primary policy response to the health harms of alcohol consumption is the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. The Act contains measures recommended by the Steering Group Report on a Substance Misuse Strategy to address both the volume of alcohol consumed in Ireland and harmful patterns of alcohol consumption such as binge drinking. Harmful drinking patterns have particular impacts on young people with evidence showing that binge drinking impacts on the developing brain.

Pricing is one of the most effective interventions to address harmful patterns of drinking especially among young people.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (Sale and Supply of Alcohol Products) Regulations 2020 came into operation in January this year. These regulations have restricted price promotions in relation to alcohol products. Measures in the regulations include the prohibition of the sale of an alcohol product at a reduced price for a limited period and the prohibition of the sale of an alcohol product at a reduced price because that product is sold with another product or service.

In May of this year, I commenced section 11 of the Act on Minimum Unit Pricing. It will come into operation from 4 January 2022 and sets a minimum price of 10c per gram of alcohol. Minimum pricing is effective at addressing the harms associated with alcohol as international evidence shows that heavier drinkers tend to purchase cheaper alcohol than lighter drinkers. In addition, the introduction of a 10c minimum price will ensure that strong alcohol products are not cheaply available for children and young people.

Finally in November this year, two sections of the Act relating to alcohol advertising and alcohol sponsorship will become operational. The purpose of these provisions is to reduce the visibility of alcohol in daily life, particularly for children. Those provisions are:

- A prohibition on alcohol advertising on a sports area during a sporting event, at events aimed at children or at events in which the majority of participants or competitors are children.

- A prohibition on alcohol sponsorship of events aimed at children, events which the majority of participants or competitors are children and events involving driving or racing motor vehicles.