David Cullinane
Question:2971. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the status of the sugar sweetened drinks tax evaluation; and if the evaluation will be published. [39727/21]
View answerTuesday, 27 July 2021
Questions (2971)
Written answers
The Sugar-Sweetened Drinks Tax was introduced on 1st May 2018, and has now been in operation for more than three years. The introduction of the tax was an important action in the Obesity Policy and Action Plan, with the aim of combatting obesity through reducing consumption of added sugar in drinks and encouraging reformulation of products by the drinks industry.
Initial indications are that the tax has had a positive impact, particularly in terms of encouraging drinks producers to reduce the sugar content in their products. However, a more comprehensive analysis of the effects of the tax is needed, and the Department has thus commenced an evaluation of the measure.
The first step in this process was to look at existing examples that could inform the methodology to assess the impacts of the tax. This work is well advanced. Allied to this, information has been gathered on existing datasets that could be analysed as part of the assessment of the impact of the tax. The literature review and data scoping exercise will enable the Department to make an assessment of the potential approaches to evaluate the impact of the tax and the timelines and resources required for the evaluation. It is intended that the evaluation will be published when completed.