The Minister of State for Health Promotion and the National Drugs Strategy, Catherine Byrne TD, has welcomed the passing of the Public Health Alcohol Bill in the Dáil yesterday evening.

“This groundbreaking Bill was introduced under the Healthy Ireland framework to improve our nation’s health. It is the first ever piece of legislation which addresses alcohol as a public health matter. It sets out a number of important measures regarding price, availability, marketing, advertising and labelling, aimed at reducing the harm that alcohol causes in our society.

“I particularly welcome the inclusion of cancer warnings on labels. The evidence clearly shows that alcohol causes cancer and the more we drink, the greater our risk of alcohol-related cancer.

“Ireland is the fourth heaviest drinking nation in the OECD in terms of quantity of alcohol consumed, and we rank joint third for binge drinking according to research carried out by the World Health Organisation. Three people die every day in this country due to alcohol consumption; we must do everything we can to reduce these figures.”

“I believe this legislation will serve to heighten awareness of the risks associated with alcohol, helping to change attitudes towards alcohol in this country and ultimately reducing the health and social costs of the harmful use of alcohol in Ireland.”

“Everyone who has worked to bring this Bill through the Oireachtas is to be commended for their efforts and I look forward to seeing it enacted as soon as possible”.