Drinks industry supports 204,000 jobs in Ireland

Dear Sir,

IRELAND’S drinks industry is vitally important to our economy and our society. It’s a sector that supports a whopping 204,000 jobs across the country, from barley farmers, to craft brewers, to publicans.

However, it’s also a sector that continues to come under fire from some commentators, with biased and misleading claims. Some of these misguided claims appeared in Darragh Clifford’s article in the Drogheda Independent recently entitled ‘Last orders for drinks industry’s desperate pleas’.

In his opinion piece, Mr. Clifford points to the ‘cynical, desperate lobbying’ by the drinks industry as the sole reason why the Alcohol Bill has yet to pass through the Dáil.

This is not true. The Minister for Health Simon Harris has refused to meet with the drinks industry in relation to the Alcohol Bill, so to claim that we are somehow delaying it makes little sense. In fact, we have criticised the slow progress of the legislation.

Furthermore, we actually support the objectives of this Bill, to tackle harmful and underage drinking in Ireland. We are simply seeking to be part of the debate about this legislation, which is perfectly legitimate in a democracy. We believe there is scope for very minor changes to the Bill, to help ensure that measures introduced are evidence-based, work, and do not negatively impact our industry.

We’re not alone in thinking we should be part of this debate. The World Health Organisation ( WHO) recommends that when a Government is bringing forward national health policies, strategies and plans it should engage with businesses and the private sector. It states that legislation is more effective when its ‘development and negotiation is inclusive of all stakeholders in and beyond the health sector’. In this case, this includes the drinks industry.

Mr. Clifford also states that the drinks industry has issues with ‘all facets of the Bill’. This is untrue. We are only seeking minor and reasonable amendments to certain facets of the advertising and labelling measures being proposed, as we believe that they are anti-business, disproportionate and won’t achieve their public policy objective.

Many elected officials have also expressed their concerns. Indeed, more than half of the TDs that spoke during the recent debate in the Dáil raised concerns about different aspects of the legislation.

In the Seanad, the Government accepted an amendment in relation to labelling that would see a cancer warning label being required on all alcohol products produced and sold in the Republic of Ireland.

This was not considered in the Department of Health’s Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Bill. This means it’s impact or effectiveness hasn’t been properly considered or justified.

We are looking for the Government to remove the requirement for a cancer warning label from the Bill. While we are committed to promoting moderate drinking and encouraging responsible choices about alcohol, we believe that a focus on one health issue alone does not give a full or accurate picture to help consumers make an informed choice about their drinking.

While excessive consumption can be harmful to health, moderate consumption of alcohol can form part of a healthy lifestyle. Alcohol is not tobacco and the association between alcohol and cancer risk is complex. Therefore, it cannot be adequately explained on a single warning label.

We believe that any measure introduced as part of this Bill should be rooted in evidence, proportionate and should not represent a barrier to free trade. We are calling on the Government to balance the bill.