G/TBT/N/IRL/2  
 
9 June 2016  
(16-3134)  Page: 1/4  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: IRELAND 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: 
Tobacco & Alcohol Control Unit 
Department of Health 
Hawkins House Hawkins Street 
Dublin 2, Ireland. 
Telephone: 00 353 1 635 4000 Fax: 00 353 1 635 4552 Email: alcohol@health.gov.ie   
Website: http://www.health.gov.ie   
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10 .1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other: 
4. Products covered (HS: or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided  in addition, where applicable): The Bill 
relates to the sale, labelling, advertising, marketing, and display of alcohol products 
(HS: 2203, HS: 2204, HS: 2205, HS: 2206, HS: 2208). Beer made from malt (HS: 2203), Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other than that of heading 20.09 (HS: 2204), Vermouth and other wine of fresh grapes flavoured with plants or aromatic 
substances (HS: 2205), Other fermented beverages (for example, cider, perry, mead); 
mixtures of fermented beverage s and mixtures of fermented beverages and non- Alcoholic 
beverages, not elsewhere specified or included (HS: 2206), Undenatured ethyl alcohol of an 
alcoholic strength by volume of less than 80% vol; spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous 
beverages (HS: 2208) 
5. Title, number of pages and langua ge(s) of the notified document: Public Health 
(Alcohol) Bill 2015 (34 pages, in English)  
6. Description of content: This Bill relates to alcohol products. It includes provisions for:  
 minimum unit pricing of alcohol products 
 health labelling of alcohol products  
 the regulation of advertising of alcohol products 
 the regulation of sponsorship by alcohol companies 
 structural separation of alcohol products in mixed trading outlets 
 the regulation of the sale and supply of alcohol in certain circumstances. 
The Public Health (Alcohol) bill makes it illegal to sell or advertise for sale, at retail level, 
alcohol products at a price below a set minimum price of 10 cent per gram of alcohol. The Minister can increase the MUP three years after commencement and every 18 
months: thereafter, following a review. G/TBT/N/IRL/2 
 
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  Labels on alcohol products, websites where alcohol is sold online, documents with kegs or 
casks must contain health and pregnancy warnings, quantity of grams, energy value and details of an alcohol public health website to  be provided by the Health Service Executive 
(National Health Service).  
The PHAB provides for the regulation of the co ntent of advertisements, and restrictions in 
cinema advertising, outdoor advertising, pr int media, sponsorship by alcohol companies 
and a prohibition on the sale of alcohol branded children's clothing. 
The PHAB provides for restrictions on the display and advertisement of alcohol products in 
mixed trade retail outlets. Mixed trade retailers can only display and advertise alcohol 
products in: 
 A separate area of the shop and/or behind the counter in a closed storage unit 
 or 
 Closed storage units and/or behind the counter in a closed storage unit 
The PHAB provides for the regulation and restriction of certain sales promotions techniques 
for alcohol products e.g. selling an alcohol product at a reduced price or free of charge on the purchase of another alcohol product, selling alcohol products at a reduced price for a 
period of time equal to or less than 3 days. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
Ireland's public health policy in relation to alcohol is to reduce consumption to 9.1 litres of 
pure alcohol per capita and the harms caused by alcohol. In 2015 alcohol consumption per adult was 10.9 litres (based on a CSO population figure for over 15s of 3,606,200). 
Ireland's alcohol consumption is in the top 5 among EU 28 Member States. Although 
alcohol consumption per capita declined between 2007 and 2015, it remains high and the 
damaging dominance of a harmful drinking pattern remains very high by European 
standards and is a major public health concern. Ireland was second in the WHO European 
Region in relation to binge drinking with 39% of the population misusing alcohol in this 
manner at least monthly. These figures are reaffirmed in the Healthy Ireland survey which indicates that drinking to excess on a regular basis is commonplace throughout the 
population with almost 4 in 10 (39%) of drinkers binge drinking on a typical drinking 
occasion and a quarter of them doing so at least once a week.  
This pattern of drinking is causing significant harm to individuals, their families and 
society. It is estimated that alcohol : 
 was responsible for at least 83 deaths: every month in 2011  
 was associated with 8,836 attendances in 2012 to specialised addiction treatment 
centres 
 is involved in one of every three poisoning deaths: in Ireland in 2012 and remains 
the substance implicated in most poisonings (i.e. toxic effect of drugs in the body) 
 was a contributory factor in half of all suicides and in deliberate self-harm 
 is associated with a risk of developing health problems such as alcohol dependence, 
liver cirrhosis, cancer and injuries 
 is a factor in many assaults, including sexual assaults, and in rape, domestic 
violence and manslaughter; 
 contributes to high levels of non-attendance at work and lower productivity 
 is associated with college drop-out 
 is a factor in 30% of all road collisions and in 36.5% of fatal road collisions 
The HSE report "Alcohol Harm to Others" examines the damage that alcohol causes in the 
general population, the workplace and children in families. The report says that over one in four people in Ireland reported experiencing negative consequences as a result of someone 
else's drinking; one in ten Irish workers experienced negative consequences due to co-
workers who were heavy drinkers and one in ten Irish parents reported that children experienced harm in the past 12 months: as a result of someone else's drinking. 
The estimated cost to Irish society of problem alcohol use is € 2.35 billion, with direct 
costs of € 1.74 billion (€ 793 million to the he alth care system, € 686m on alcohol related 
crime, and € 258m in alcohol related traffic accidents) and indirect costs of € 641 million (€ 195 million due to absenteeism, € 185 million due to accidents at work, € 169 million 
due to suicides and € 65 million due to premature mortality). G/TBT/N/IRL/2 
 
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  The Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy (NSMS) was 
published in 2012. The Report contains a range of recommendations to reduce the consumption of alcohol in general. These recommendations are grouped under the five 
pillars of Supply Reduction (availability), Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation and 
Research. The Government approved the publicat ion of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill on 
the 08th December 2015. This is part of a suit e of measures agreed by the Government in 
2013 on foot of the recommendations in the NSMS. 
The Bill is one of a number of measures being taken under the Healthy Ireland Framework. 
This is the Government Framework which sets out a vision to improve the health and 
wellbeing of all the population of Ireland by 2025. Healthy Ireland puts forward "whole of 
society" approach and new arrangements to ensure more effective co-operation to achieve better outcomes for all. 
The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill provides for: 
 minimum unit pricing 
 health labelling on alcohol products 
 structural separation 
 restrictions on the advertising and marketing 
 regulation of sponsorship 
 regulations relating to the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol products. 
Minimum Unit Pricing is a targeted measure designed to prevent the sale of alcohol at very 
cheap prices. MUP is aimed at those who drink in a harmful and hazardous manner. Strong and cheap alcohol products are favoured by young people, who have the least disposable income and the heaviest drinkers, who are most at risk of alcohol-related illness and 
death. 
Labelling of alcohol products aims to ensure that consumers are provided with access to 
health information on alcohol products. A recent review of evidence for labelling on 
alcoholic products found that: 
 health warnings are an effective way to inform all consumers of the risks associated 
with alcohol 
 could potentially reduce dangerous drinking behaviour and that 
 consumers overwhelmingly support health warnings on alcohol products.(Martin-
Moreno et al, 2013) 
Structural separation restricts the display and advertisement of alcohol products in mixed 
retail outlets. This is an important mechanism in de-normalising alcohol and protecting 
children from overexposure. 
There is a compelling body of research evid ence which shows that exposure to alcohol 
marketing, whether it is on TV, in movies, in public places or alcohol branded sponsorship, 
predicts future youth drinking. Numerous lo ngitudinal studies have found that young 
people who are exposed to alcohol marketing are more likely to start drinking, or if already 
drinking, to drink more. Research also shows that self-regulation is not able to protect 
young people from exposure to large volumes of alcohol marketing and appealing alcohol advertising. 
The PHAB places restrictions on broadcast advertising, cinema advertising, outdoor 
advertising, print media, the content of alcohol advertisements and the regulation of 
sponsorship by alcohol companies. These restrictions will protect children from overexposure to alcohol marketing. 
The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill provides for the making of regulations to restrict the sale, 
supply and consumption of alcohol products in certain circumstances. This will allow for the regulation and prohibition of particular pr ice promotions – particularly those that 
encourage individuals to buy more alcohol than they intended or to drink in a harmful 
manner. G/TBT/N/IRL/2 
 
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  8. Relevant documents: Please find links below to: 
1. Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 – 2025: 
http:// health .gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/ 03/HealthyIrelandBrochureWA2.pdf   
2. Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy 
2012: http://health.gov.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2014/03/Steering_Group_Report_NSMS.pdf   
3. Sheffield Report: http://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/xMUP-FINAL-
Report-2014.pdf   
4. Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: http://health.gov.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2015/12/PHAB-2015-as-published.pdf   
5. Bill Explanatory Memorandum: 
http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bi lls28/bills/2015/120 15/b12015d-memo.pdf   
6. Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Bill: http://health.gov.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2015/12/Appendix-IV-Regulatory-Impact-Analysis-RIA-Alcohol.pdf   
9. Proposed date of adoption: To be determined 
Proposed date of entry into force: To be determined   
10. Final date for comments: 90 days from notification 
11. Texts available from: Nati onal enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body: