Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) has called for a 'balanced approach' to the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill which is due before the Seanad on this coming Wednesday, 8 November.
In a recent statement the ABFI has said that the proposed advertising measures in the Bill are 'poorly targeted', 'not backed by evidence' and will 'unfairly impact an indigenous industry', that supports over '210,000' jobs.
"The Irish drinks industry supports jobs in every county in Ireland and has huge potential for future growth." Patricia Callan, director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland said.
Whiskey Renaissance
"Just look at Ireland’s whiskey renaissance. A few years ago, Ireland had only four operational whiskey distilleries. There are now 18 distilleries operating across Ireland, from Dublin’s Liberties to rural communities nationwide." She added.
Callan said that according to the latest figures from the CSO Irish whiskey exports (ROI only) for the first seven month of 2017, showed that the value of exports globally is up 19.9% and last year the Irish beer industry also accounted for 20% of Ireland’s total beverage exports.
The Alcohol Bill will 'make Ireland one of the most restrictive countries in the world for marketing alcohol products'.
Loss In Advertising Revenue
The Bill could reportedly ban images of people, animals, scenic shots of Ireland and scenes in pubs from appearing in alcohol advertisements, if passed.
According to a report by economist Jim Power, commissioned by a number of Irish media companies earlier this year highlighted that these advertising proposals will cost the Irish media industry €20 million in lost advertising revenue per annum.
The proposals have been dubbed ‘censorship’ by ABFI.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Donna Ahern
