Have your say: Health Committee invites submissions on Heads of Alcohol Bill

13 Feb 2015, 15:49

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children has today issued an invitation to interested individuals and groups to have their say on proposed legislation on alcohol.

13 February 2015

The Heads of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill were published on 4 February and are accessible on the Department website.

The Bill sets out to provide for health labelling of alcohol products; minimum unit pricing; regulation of marketing and advertising of alcohol, and enforcement powers for Environmental Health Officers.

The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar TD has referred the draft General Scheme to the Joint Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. As part of the process, the Committee is inviting input from organisations and individuals on the proposals.

Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “The issue of alcohol misuse has been a longstanding priority for the Committee, and we are of the view there is no single measure which will solve the problem. Rather, a package of measures is needed to change our attitudes towards, and behaviour regarding, the consumption of alcohol. The Heads of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, published last week, have been described by Minister Varadkar as most the far-reaching yet to curb the misuse of alcohol, while other voices have criticised the measures for not going far enough.”

“As legislators with the responsibility in this area, it is important that we engage carefully with the wider public to listen to a broad spectrum of views on the draft legislation. The Committee may decide to invite one or more individuals or groups to public hearings to discuss particular submissions in detail. On foot of this public process, the Committee will publish a report on the legislation, which will be furnished to the Minister for consideration when drafting the Bill which will be presented to the Dáil and Seanad.”