484. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Health if he has engaged with the responsible serving of an organisation (details supplied); and the way in which its services could be utilised in order to promote drinking in moderation. [23293/17]

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy): I presume the Deputy is referring to the organisation and website drinkaware.ie. Drinkaware.ie is funded by the alcohol industry. The Department's position is that the alcohol industry, similar to the tobacco industry, has no role in influencing public health policy. However, I and other Ministers have met with and listened to numerous alcohol industry representatives.

I had the pleasure of recently launching a Health Service Executive website and information campaign on the harms of alcohol under the title - askaboutalcohol.ie. The central tenet of the website and information campaign is about how much we are drinking, how it affects our physical and mental health, and how we can gain more by drinking less. The Deputy may have heard the campaign information broadcast on radio over the past couple of months. The website and the associated information campaign will play an important role in providing public health information on alcohol.

Reducing overall consumption of alcohol is one of this Government’s public health priorities. The current levels of consumption and patterns of drinking (e.g. drinking to excess regularly) are causing significant harm to individuals, their families and society. In this context the Government approved the publication of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill and it is included in the Programme for a Partnership Government. Askaboutalcohol.ie and the associated communications campaign is part of a suite of measures included in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill to reduce the number of people engaged in the harmful use of alcohol.