Yes.

Sentiment score: 0.40

4. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his position regarding the introduction of alcohol labelling under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, in light of his recent comments citing halting the introduction of labelling as a potential measure for business in response to tariffs (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33468/25]

Sentiment score: 0.01

What is the position of the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on the introduction of alcohol labelling under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018? I ask this question in light of recent comments citing the potential halting of the introduction of this labelling as a potential measure for businesses in response to tariffs.

Sentiment score: 0.00

The Minister of State began by saying that the topic of the question is a matter for the Minister for Health, yet on 6 April the Minister for Finance mentioned this, on 1 May the Tánaiste mentioned it and on 8 April the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Burke, mentioned it. They all referred to this as a potential measure in the context of tariff mitigation. I will therefore ask the question again. What is the Department's position on removing alcohol labelling as a potential measure next year? This legislation has been in the pipeline since 2018. It positions us as a leader in health measures, just as the smoking ban did many years ago. As the Minister has said, the reality is that there are European measures that we need to measure ourselves by. If we kept in step with Europe on the smoking ban, we would still not have a smoking ban. This is our opportunity to mitigate a major health issue here in Ireland. It has the backing of the entire medical community. I need to be clear that this Department will not halt or pause the potential introduction of this.

Sentiment score: -0.05

I have not had a drink of alcohol in thirteen and a half years. Alcohol and its negative impacts have played a huge part in my life. I say this and share it because there is hardly a family in Ireland which has not had the same experience. Once again, therefore, what is the Department's position? I know very well that I can seek an answer from the Minister for Health about her position, but the Minister of State has just told me that his Department has corresponded with the Minister for Health on this. What is he trying to say? This is not a new thing. It has been the subject of full consultation. It was introduced by the Taoiseach back in 2018, and it is wrong and unfair to dangle it as a response to tariffs when it will not even help those Irish companies involved because it does not have an impact on exports. Distributors are already putting labels on products in anticipation of what might happen, so all this would do is cause confusion if the Government were to roll it back. What is the Department's position, as opposed to that of the Department of Health, on the matter?

Sentiment score: -0.05