Drink tax plan to back sport events af ter sponsor ban
THE Government is considering a new tax on drink to replace the revenue lost if a ban on alcohol companies sponsoring sporting events goes ahead.
According to reports yesterday, the Coalition appears to have come to a compromise on the controversial ban, and plans to replace lost revenue using funds from Exchequer grants or a special ‘ social responsibility tax’ on alcohol.
Also included in the plans are measures to curb alcohol advertising and an outright ban on the practice of selling drink below its cost price, according to the Sunday Business Post.
The proposals have been welcomed by alcohol campaigners but the industry has warned that a ban is not the answer to Ireland’s drink problem.
The idea was discussed at a Cabinet sub-committee meeting last Monday, but the issue has now been shelved until after the summer break.
The idea was first raised by junior minister Alex White, who proposed that a full ban should be introduced on both alcohol advertising and sponsorship of sporting events.
The plan was backed by James Reilly, with the Health Minister claiming that the move would save the country millions due to savings in the health budget. However, many within the Coalition were critical, arguing that i t would have a devastating effect on sport. Sports Minister Leo Varadkar and Culture Minister Jimmy Deenihan were among those who strongly opposed the proposals.
And earlier this month, the Oireachtas’s Transport and Communications Committee recommended against the ban due to the financial importance of sponsorship to sporting events. The
‘There’s no evidence
to support this’
alcohol industry claim there is no link between the misuse of alcohol and the sponsorship of sporting events.
There have also been concerns that the ban may impact on the possibility of Ireland hosting future tournaments which have ties with drinks companies, such as the Rugby World Cup, which is sponsored by Heineken.
A statement issued on behalf of the drinks industry stated last night: ‘There is no evidence that sponsorship and advertising are linked to alcohol misuse. The industry is again calling on Government to address this issue in a meaningful way with all relevant parties, in order to implement evidencebased solutions to alcohol misuse, as they have done in the UK.’
Asked if the Government could afford to subsidise the sports sector if drinks companies were banned from doing so, Enda Kenny said a decision had not been finalised on the matter.
The Taoiseach said: ‘There has been no decision made about this yet. There is a great deal of work to be done on this. We would recognise this as a complex issue. We did not put any dates on this because there is a great deal more to be considered.’
Fianna Fáil spokesman for sport Timmy Dooley, who sat on the committee, said he would be in favour of the ban if the Government can find an alternative way to fund the sporting industry.
He said: ‘You’d like to break the link between sport and alcohol, if you could. It’s not possible to end it immediately because the sporting organisations are not able to find another set of sponsors who are prepared to fill the gap.’
It is estimated that alcohol sponsorship is worth in the region of €35million per year to the Irish sporting sector.