Section 17 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, provides that the name of the owner, and the address, of premises to which an on-licence or an off-licence is attached shall be clearly indicated on a label affixed to any container in which intoxicating liquor is sold for consumption off the premises.
The aim of this section, which has not yet entered into force, is to complement existing provisions designed to combat the consumption of intoxicating liquor by persons under the age of 18 years. My Department is considering how best to overcome practical and technical difficulties relating to the labelling of individual containers – particularly in relation to the possible removal or altering of labels after sale – with a view to ensuring the effective implementation of this section.
While the labelling of containers may assist the Garda in efforts to combat underage drinking, the effectiveness of this measure could be undermined to some extent by what has become known as "secondary purchasing", that is, the purchase of alcohol by persons who have attained 18 years of age for illegal consumption by under-18s. Intoxicating liquor found by gardaí in the possession of persons under 18 may have been sold in good faith by the on-licence or off-licence concerned to a person of 18 years or over.