1790. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health the assessment that has been undertaken by his Department on the proposed "Europe's Beating Cancer Plan" that would impose EU-wide labels on alcohol products; if these measure will impact any unilateral measures proposed under the Public Health (Alcohol) (Labelling) Regulations 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18304/23]

Stephen Donnelly Minister for Health: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan was published in 2021 and announced the EU Commission’s intention to work towards health warnings on labels of alcoholic beverages. Preparatory work and evidence-gathering for these proposals are in progress. However as no proposals on health labelling for alcohol products have been published, an assessment cannot be undertaken at this time. I look forward to engaging constructively with our EU partners on any alcohol labelling proposal that may materialise in the future.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Act was enacted in 2018 to address the high levels and the harmful patterns of consumption which is a major cause of disease, disability and death in Ireland. The Act introduces a suite of measures to contribute to a reduction in alcohol consumption and health harms, including minimum unit pricing, the regulation of advertising and sponsorship, the display of products in mixed retail outlets and health labelling. The Programme for Government Our Shared Future commits to the continued implementation of the 2018 Act.

Section 12 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 requires that certain health warnings and information be displayed on the labels of alcohol products, on notices in licensed premises and on websites which sell alcohol products. Regulations are required under section 12 to specify the detail of the requirement. Section 12 will apply to all alcohol products sold in Ireland, whether produced locally or imported into the State and have been designed to be proportionate and effective, including a 3-year lead-in time to allow industry time to comply with the requirements. The labelling requirement is a public health measure designed to inform consumers of the content and of the health risks of alcohol products in the same way as they are informed of allergens in food or the health risks from tobacco cigarettes. Health warnings on the labels of alcohol products will inform consumers that alcohol consumption is not risk free so that they can make an informed choice about their drinking.

The draft Regulations under section 12 were submitted for EU assessment in June 2022 and successfully emerged from that assessment process in December. The draft Regulations have now been notified to the World Trade Organisation and on completion of this process on 7 May 2023, a decision on a start date can be made.