New laws will clamp down on sale and advertising of alcohol
Fionnan Sheahan and Tom Brady
The Government will launch a double-whammy assault on the alcohol industry this week with a clampdown on sales and advertising of drink.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Justice Minister Brian Lenihan will publish new laws at lunchtime today to restrict sales of alcohol in off-licences, convenience stores and garage forecourts.
The legislation will also give extra powers to gardai to deal with public order issues arising from alcohol abuse.
Later in the week, the Government will publish an updated code of practice for alcohol advertising to tighten up drink ads on television and radio.
The new rules will ban some short advertising slots during the broadcasting of sports events and ensure all alcohol ads are vetted in advance.
But it is still likely to be criticised for only being a voluntary code, not backed up by any legislation.
Group
The move will also see the establishment of a group to look at banning alcohol sponsorship of sports events. But there is no clear sign yet if the Government will go down this route.
The group will also broaden its remit into looking at the sponsorship of concerts by drinks companies, as such events attract a predominantly young audience.
The Programme for Government states the coalition will "discuss" the alcohol sponsorship of sports "with a view to phasing it out".
Mr Lenihan's first attempt to tackle the alcohol sector and linked public order problems will be seen in the Intoxicating Liquor/Public Order Bill 2008.
The draft of the bill was drawn up on foot of the Report of the Alcohol Advisory Group, headed by Limerick solicitor Gordon Holmes.
The legislation will clamp down on the widespread practice of having alcohol on display anywhere on a shop floor.
While the measures to be outlined are expected to curb the sale of alcohol, the minister is not going to raise the legal age for buying alcohol above 18.
On the advertising front, Junior Minister Pat 'the Cope' Gallagher will publish his Code of Practice for Alcohol Advertising. It follows criticism that a set of rules brought in two years ago by Mary Harney was not taken seriously enough by the broadcasters as there was no method of enforcement.
Just months after the previous code was introduced, RTE's coverage of the 2006 World Cup, which had a large audience of young people, was sponsored by Budweiser. Minister Gallagher's new code will mean a programme will reduce the exposure of children to alcohol advertising. A programme will also need a larger adult audience for alcohol ads to be allowed.
Under the new rules, the drinks manufacturers and advertisers are promising to enforce the code right across the board in terms of any ads they buy for an Irish audience, regardless of the channel.
The major criticism of the existing code of practice from anti-alcohol campaigners was its voluntary nature and the failure to force the industry to abide by it through legislation.
Indeed, this was a complaint of the Green Party when it was in opposition.
Originally Ms Harney promised legislation and a statutory code, but this was dropped after lobbying by the industry.
- Fionnan Sheahan and Tom Brady
