Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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273. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he is considering carrying out a public health assessment on the sale of alcohol Bill 2022, as recommended by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice in its pre-legislative scrutiny report of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20277/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Justice has engaged in an extensive consultation process with representative bodies in the licensed trade, businesses, public health bodies and advocacy groups, consumers and communities in relation to the proposed legislation in question.  A public consultation, including an online survey and a request for submissions, ran from November 2021 until January 2022. More than 5,000 responses were received, including many responses from  various health bodies.

In addition, a webinar and panel discussion event was held on 10th March 2022. The consultation process demonstrated that there is a strong demand for reform and modernisation of the law in this area. We are making sure the reform of this legislation takes account of, and is informed by, this engagement. 

As part of the overall process, the Department of Justice continues to engage with the Department of Health on the development of the Bill and will fully consider its assessment of the health implications.