Chairman: This meeting has been convened to consider the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015. I welcome The Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for health promotion and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Catherine Byrne, and her officials to the meeting. As there are a number of related amendments, groupings arise and those groupings have just been circulated.

Section 1 agreed to.

SECTION 2

Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, and No. 7 are consequential on No. 31. Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, 7, 30 and 31 will be discussed together.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly - I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:

" "Audiovisual Media Services Directive" means Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in member states concerning the provision of audiovisual media services;

"audiovisual media service" has the same meaning as it has in Article 1 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive;".

The amendments are self-explanatory and I do not propose to speak to them unless anyone requires an explanation.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Catherine Byrne) - Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, 7, 30 and 31 propose restrictions on advertising on the Internet and provide for related definitions and offences. The amendments propose to provide for the creation of an offence in the case that a person advertises, or causes to be advertised, an alcohol product on an information society service unless all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the advertisement cannot be viewed by children. These steps include whether age verification controls have been used to prevent access by children to an advertisement. This amendment uses the framework of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive which comes under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten. My officials have previously consulted that Department and the Department of Justice and Equality on this matter……

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