Enterprise Minister slammed for requesting delay in introducing health labelling of alcohol
ALCOHOL ACTION IRELAND has said it is 'outrageous' that Enterprise Minister Peter Burke 'formally intervened' to request that the introduction of health warnings on alcohol bottles be delayed.
It added that Burke used 'spurious industry misinformation as grounds for such a call'.
In response to a question tabled by Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney, Burke said that he had asked Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to 'consider pausing' the introduction of health warning labels on alcohol.
The labels were due to come into force from 22 May 2026 following the introduction of a law in 2023 by then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
The law means the labels of alcohol products will state the calorie content and grams of alcohol in the product.
They will also warn about the risk of consuming alcohol when pregnant and the risk of liver disease and fatal cancers from alcohol consumption.
However,
Tánaiste Simon Harris last month signalled that there would delay to the rollout over concerns about the global trade environment.
In his written response to Gibney, Burke also referred to 'recent global economic uncertainty'.
He added that Ireland should 'not take any steps that would erode the relative competitiveness of Ireland's enterprise base'.
'In order to navigate these uncertain times, it makes sense to focus on those factors which fall within our domestic sphere of control,' said Burke.
He then revealed that he had recently penned correspondence to MacNeill 'expressing my concern that the proposed measures would mean increased production and sale costs for Irish producers and importers'.
He added that the health labels could 'potentially add to the price payable by consumers at a time when prices are also rising due to a multitude of other factors'.
'Notwithstanding the overarching health benefits of the proposal, I requested my colleague to consider pausing the introduction of the proposed new requirements,' said Burke.
He added that this would 'provide the opportunity to work with the Commission on progressing a harmonised set of EU-wide regulations and reinforce our approach of seeking to reduce regulatory fragmentation in the Internal Market'.
However, Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) said that the 'legal onus' will be on retailers, not producers or importers, to ensure products are labelled.
'A supermarket or off-licence can simply add a sticker to the product,' said AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany.
And while Burke said a pause would allow an opportunity to work with the EU Commission on a 'harmonised' set of EU-wide regulations, Gilheany said 'such a move has already been shot down due to intense industry lobbying'.
'There will be no harmonised EU labelling, rather, each country, Ireland included, must go it alone or have no warnings whatsoever,' said Gilheany.
She added: 'AAI needs to ask is there anyone in government who is standing up for Department of Health policy?'
Gilheany also said that Burke 'mentioned many red herrings as grounds for delaying labelling' and that it is 'crystal clear there will be no harmonised EU-wide labelling'.
She added that the EU Commission has ruled that Ireland's labelling regulations would not constitute a barrier to trade or the single market.
'Ireland needs to be the standard-bearer for alcohol just like we were for smoking,' said Gilheany.
'Other countries are watching Ireland closely on alcohol labelling ready to follow our lead, just like they did with smoking.'
She added that a delay to introducing labelling will have consequences and that it is 'unconscionable, but unsurprising, that the alcohol industry opposes health information labelling'.
Gilheany added that many senior politicians are dealing with a serious issue in an unserious manner.
'Consciously spouting industry misinformation that puts a price on Irish lives is shameful,' she added.
Meanwhile, Gilheany remarked that Taoiseach Micheál Martin is 'rightly held in the highest regard thanks to his leadership around Ireland's smoking regulations'.
'He knows all too well the power of industry lobbying having faced down the tobacco industry then.
'The eyes of the world are on Ireland again and AAI is strongly urging the Taoiseach to resist industry lobbying once more and proceed as planned with alcohol labelling's introduction in May 2026.'
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