Government alcohol Bill is up against strong lobbying

The Government will struggle to pass sections of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill next week because of lobbying from small businesses and craft breweries over advertising and rules to separate alcohol from other products in shops.

Debate on committee stage of the legislation starts in the Seanad on Wednesday. The Bill provides for minimum unit pricing to prevent below-cost selling and compulsory labels on all alcoholic drinks stating calorie count, health warnings and alcohol levels.

It includes restrictions on alcohol promotion and strict structural separation of alcohol products from other items in shops.

Fine Gael Senators were described as "very divided" at a meeting this week with Minister of State for Health Promotion Marcella Corcoran Kennedy who is steering the Bill through the Seanad and Dáil.

And Fianna Fáil Senators have also been strongly lobbied and supplied with proposed amendments to the legislation from the drinks industry.

A Government source said“the lobbying is stepping up as we get closer” to debating the amendments. “Everyone is in favour of the Bill until they get lobbied,” but the Government expects their Senators to support the Bill.

One Fine Gael Senator said “small shopkeepers haven’t got the wherewithal” to segregate alcohol from other products.

And another expressed concerns of craft brewers that they would have particular difficulty with advertising restrictions.

Drinks industry

The alcohol industry, in lobbying Fianna Fáil, claimed the advertising restrictions were so strict it would “prevent the Christmas Guinness advert from being allowed”.

Fianna Fáil chef de cabinet Deirdre Gillane emailed the party's Senators and said she had received a number of calls about the Bill.

She said the party “is supporting the main principles of this Bill as alcohol abuse is a huge problem in Ireland. Experts have advised on this Bill.”

She enclosed amendments that Ibec and the drinks industry are asking Senators to submit on the Alcohol Bill next week.

She said “small retailers are very concerned about the charges they are facing due to segregation. There are recommendations in the Bill so amendments on this should be submitted. That should be changed if at all possible as small retailers are already under enormous pressure.”

Export

Ms Gillane said Ibec and the drinks industry “are lobbying hard for balance and also that Irish alcohol products should not be treated differently to EU alcohol products. They also believe that it does not make sense to have labels on Irish alcohol products referencing the HSE website, for example, as it is not . . . applicable across the EU. Health experts disagree with this assessment.”

She added that “the labelling requirements – they believe – will have a negative impact on Ireland’s ability to export the products from here as the industry is concerned about the added costs”.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher said "we wouldn't be on our own in getting amendments" and that the industry had lobbied everyone. He stressed the party's support for the legislation and said Fianna Fáil had been calling for it for the past five years.

Mr Kelleher said that he, Ms Gillane and health researcher Declan Ryan would formally consider the industry amendments as they would from every side, before the 11am deadline on Monday for amendments to be included for debate.

The cross-party group on alcohol harm, chaired by Senator Frances Black, is also putting forward amendments, although these are from a public-health perspective and supported by doctors and medical groups.