Alcohol Action Ireland press release, Thursday 19 June 2025
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, is bewildered by this morning’s Dáil statement by Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Alan Dillion, that the introduction of alcohol health information labelling, which is due to come into force in May next year, “must be implemented in a way that does not jeopardise Ireland’s export-led recovery”, that backtracking on its introduction is “not about undermining public health”, and that the “proposed legislation is one that is very much at a time when many people are struggling with uncertainty”.
For a start, the legislation – the Public Health (Alcohol) Act – is not “proposed” but was passed with cross-party support in 2018. Labelling is settled policy with a well-publicised timeline in place and which multiple producers are already working with. Secondly, alcohol labelling cannot in any way “jeopardise Ireland’s export-led recovery” because labelling applies only to alcohol products sold in Ireland and has absolutely no impact on exports. As for “people struggling with uncertainty”, AAI would contend that this includes Minister Dillon himself, who joins other government figures such as Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris and Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke in parroting industry misinformation linking global trading concerns brought on by US tariffs to the Irish health issue of labelling, which have no bearing on each other whatsoever.
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “Minister Dillon stood up in the Dáil and said his Department was looking for ‘economic realism’ in terms of labelling’s implementation, which makes one wonder exactly what reality he is living in. Some of our senior politicians seem to be living in the disinformation space created by the alcohol industry around labelling. The reality is that while tariffs may have changed the trading environment, the one constant is the alcohol industry’s long-running and fierce opposition to these regulations, which were subject to more than 1,000 days of debate in the Oireachtas and were opposed at every turn by industry.
“To be clear, labelling of alcohol products is a health issue and has nothing to do with Ireland’s exports as the regulations only apply to products sold in Ireland, while in relation to imports, or home-produced products, the legal onus is on retailers, not producers/manufacturers, to ensure products are labelled. Therefore, a supermarket, or off-licence, can simply add a sticker to the product.
“The reality is also that labels are already here both in law and on the shelves, as they have started to appear on some alcohol products ahead of their mandatory introduction next year. Businesses in countries as diverse as Australia, Italy, New Zealand and Spain are now labelling their products in the entirely reasonable expectation that Ireland is implementing its stated law. They’re here and the world hasn’t caved in like some would have us believe. Why then are some people in government talking about hiding the facts from the public, which is what delaying these regulations would mean? Let’s not forget, people have a right to know the risks associated with alcohol consumption and to make informed decisions.”
The decision to press ahead as planned with labelling ultimately lies with Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. However, Minister Dillon’s response to the question from Social Democrats’ Sinead Gibney is yet more external pressure on the Health Minister to backtrack on agreed government policy which is designed to reduce population-level alcohol consumption and therefore its associated harms – which the World Health Organisation estimates costs the state €12 billion every year in health, justice and lost productivity – in order to help preserve the profits of an already massively profitable industry. This is clear to see in the Risk Management section of Heineken’s 2024 Annual Report, which states that adding health warnings to labels “could lead to lower overall consumption”.
Dr Gilheany continued: “The Programme for Government committed to tackle harmful alcohol consumption through effective regulations. Why then are some elements in government undermining this commitment, which makes the government look confused about its own policy, as if the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing? Surely Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, will not be allowing a health harming industry to undermine her own department’s clear policy in this area?
“This confusion frankly must be embarrassing for Micheál Martin considering his high standing internationally for his leadership around smoking regulations. The eyes of the world are on Ireland once again and there is little doubt that, just like with the smoking ban, other countries will follow suit on health information labelling. Any move to backtrack now would be a betrayal of Ireland’s health and democratic processes.”
ENDS
