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[Alcohol Action Ireland] Kicking alcohol sponsorship to touch? (11 Apr 2012)

External website: http://alcoholireland.ie/2012/kicking-alcohol-spon...

The Irish Sports Council, the IRFU and the GAA all announced last week their opposition to the proposed recommendation phasing out alcohol sponsorship of sports by 2016 - a key recommendation of the National Substance Misuse Strategy. They were the latest voices to speak out against the proposed ban – even before the strategy was launched, four senior Ministers had let their opposition be known.

The question now is – what are the odds of alcohol sponsorship of sports coming to an end, even a phased one?

What has been forgotten in the current debate is that the phasing out alcohol sports sponsorship has been under consideration since the time of the previous Government. A Government decision dated 22nd April 2008 agreed to the establishment of a working group to deliver on the commitment in the Programme for Government to: “Discuss the question of the sponsorship of sporting events by the alcohol industry with a view to phasing it out.”

Alcohol Action Ireland was on the working group and subsequent National Substance Misuse Strategy steering group.

 

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