Creed calls for sunset clause for alcohol sponsorship to be included in Alcohol Bill

“While the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 will regulate the drinks industry sponsorship for the first time and will make it illegal to advertise alcohol in a manner that targets children, I believe that a sunset clause for alcohol sponsorship in sport should also be introduced” says Michael Creed, Fine Gael TD for Cork North West.

“Restrictions and regulation of marketing, advertising and sponsorship including sport will go a long way in protecting children from the misuse of alcohol. These regulations will ensure that children and young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing is considerably diminished, but I believe that we could go further.

“We have been talking about regulating alcohol sponsorship and introducing a minimum price for alcohol for a long time. Successive Governments have failed to take action and this Bill is a major step forward in tackling all of these issues. However we cannot compromise on public health and therefore we must look at completely eliminating alcohol sponsorship of sport.

“An inter-Departmental Committee chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach found that sponsorship was inextricably linked with marketing and advertising generally and best dealt with in a comprehensive way.

“I commend the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar for bringing forward such a comprehensive range of proposals to tackle the problem of alcohol abuse. However, I believe that by not providing for a total ban on alcohol sponsorship, we run the risk of undermining the effectiveness of the other very worthwhile measures.

“A sunset clause would allow the various national governing bodies of sport some time to prepare for the changeover. This is an issue I intend to pursue with Minister Varadkar.”