Alcohol Action Ireland press release, Friday 18 July 2025
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, notes the upcoming government decision on whether to delay the introduction of health information labels on alcohol products and is urging Taoiseach Micheál Martin to once again show his leadership in the face of intense lobbying from vested interests and proceed as planned with alcohol labels in May 2026.
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “That more than 85 national and international advocates and organisations from right across the public health spectrum would come together to voice strong opposition to any delay underlines both the scale of harm to society that alcohol causes and also the importance to public health in Ireland that Micheál Martin now shows his leadership on this matter and rules out any delay.
“A decision to delay may be conscience-free for some politicians but it is most definitely not consequence free and is in fact a life-or-death decision for some. Incredibly, the delay has been mooted to extend until 2029. In a country where three people a day are diagnosed with cancer that has been caused by alcohol, that four-year delay comes at a huge cost. During those four years, upwards of 15,000 babies will be born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) which has lifelong implications.
“From the outset the debate around delaying labels has been couched in economic terms like ‘exports’, ‘costs’ and ‘competitiveness’ which has been shown to be nothing more than alcohol industry disinformation being parroted by politicians. Well, in economic terms alone, what cost the more than 4,000 cancer cases from alcohol that the State will need to pay to treat over the next four years? What cost the lifelong service needs for babies born with FASD? Of course, the true cost of a delay will be much more than just money.”
The alcohol industry has a long history of opposing labelling by peddling disinformation at every level of influence – local, national and international – because they know it may lead to a decrease in consumption and therefore impact profits, as beer giant Heineken has specified. Indeed, Guinness’ owner Diageo has recently been looking to recruit a Global Alcohol Policy Manager to “develop and execute effective member states engagement strategies at the capital level as well as at the UN missions in NYC and Geneva” to counter the “unprecedented challenges from the WHO and its NGO network globally and regionally, who are increasing pressure on member states to adopt stricter regulations for alcohol to reduce overall consumption”.
Drinks Industry Ireland, tellingly, reacted to the possible labelling delay by framing the issue not as ‘protecting jobs’ or ‘competitiveness’ as one might expect, but as one of industry winning their latest battle against public health: ‘Whether this decision marks a temporary pause or a longer-term retreat from ambitious health regulation remains to be seen. For now, industry stakeholders will welcome a reprieve.’
Dr Gilheany continued: “The alcohol industry’s opposition to any public health initiatives that seek to reduce consumption is ferocious and well-funded, with intense industry lobbying taking place ahead of a decision on labelling. This year alone there have been at least six meetings between alcohol industry representatives and senior government figures about labelling. There has been much comment about Ireland’s progress in reducing alcohol consumption from its previously sky-high levels as a justification for now abandoning the measures which have led to this, despite the clear evidence that Ireland still has a long way to go before anyone can say this country has a low-risk approach to alcohol.
“It must be remembered, the alcohol industry is no ordinary industry and their product is no ordinary product. Alcohol kills 1,500 people in Ireland every year and costs the exchequer €12 billion annually in health, justice and lost productivity. Labelling quite simply can save lives. Not only do labels tell people the facts, that alcohol causes liver disease and cancer, but they also play a huge part in changing attitudes to alcohol, especially children’s attitudes, the benefit of which will be seen in years to come.
“It must also be remembered that labels are already here, both in law and on the shelves across Ireland. They are appearing on increasing numbers of wines, beers and ciders with AAI on Thursday counting more than 60 different brands labelled in the wine section alone, of one off-licence. Labels are also appearing on Irish products like cider while producers from multiple countries including Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and Spain are clearly able to cope with these regulations. Some have even added the information as a stick-on label – a measure which was included in the law to ensure ease of compliance. Supporters of a delay talk about ‘business certainty’ but all these businesses have labelled their products because they were ‘certain’ that it was going ahead, as any democratically mandated legislation should do. To delay now would be farcical if it wasn’t so serious.
“The Public Health (Alcohol) Act, of which labelling is one section, was passed back in 2018 and seven years on not all sections have been enforced. Labelling has already been delayed and another delay only chips away at the welcome recent progress Ireland is making in reducing consumption and is a retrograde step. There is no doubt that if the government caves in on this issue, the industry will come back with renewed vigour in their attempts to attack any public health measure on alcohol.
“Micheál Martin has a decision to make that will have a lasting impact on his personal legacy. He is rightly held in the highest regard nationally and internationally thanks to his leadership around Ireland’s smoking regulations and he knows all too well the power of industry lobbying having faced down the tobacco industry then. The eyes of the world are on him again and AAI is strongly urging the Taoiseach to do the right thing and resist industry lobbying once more and proceed as planned with alcohol labelling’s introduction in May 2026. Anything less is a betrayal of Ireland’s health and democratic processes.”
ENDS
