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The Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- The Journal
Planned health warning labels on alcohol bottles to be deferred until 2029
THE ROLLOUT OF health warning labels on alcohol bottles which was due to begin next year is expected to be deferred until 2029. It's understood that a memo will be brought to Cabinet to delay the move amid concerns arising from potential US tariffs. The labels were due to come into force from 22 May 2026 following the introduction of a law by then-Health Minister Stephen Donnelly in 2023. Under the new law, labels on alcohol products will state the calorie content and grams of alcohol in the product, and warn about the risk of consuming alcohol when pregnant and of the risk of liver disease and fatal cancers from alcohol consumption. Ireland will be the first country in the world to introduce such regulations. A three-year lead-in time was built into the law in order to give businesses time to prepare for the change. However, following Donald Trump's initial tariffs announcement in April, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told RTÉ Radio 1 that the introduction of the labels would be looked at. Speaking in the Dail last month, Tánaiste Simon Harris said there was 'a legitimate issue with timing when it comes to labelling'. Harris said businesses trying to do business internationally amid the 'uncertain trading environment' had raised concerns with Agriculture and Food Minister Martin Heydon. He said he had concerns 'regarding the current trade and tariffs environment we are navigating our way through'. Advertisement 'We are very proud of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, but we will make a decision in the coming weeks on the timing of the labels. I personally believe a deferral will be required.' Enterprise Minister Peter Burke last month said the deferral would provide the opportunity to work with the European Commission 'on progressing a harmonised set of EU-wide regulations and reinforce our approach of seeking to reduce regulatory fragmentation in the Internal Market'. A recent report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative cited alcohol labelling as a significant barrier to American exports. The report noted concerns of US industry that the labelling requirements for the Irish market would be costly and disrupt exports within the EU single market. In a statement today, Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) said the delay is 'clearly yet another instance of the alcohol industry and their friends in government putting more pressure on the Taoiseach and Health Minister to turn their backs on public health'. 'It is bizarre that the government should even contemplate delaying this measure which has been in planning for years,' CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said. 'Indeed, multiple products are already for sale in Ireland with the labels in advance of them becoming compulsory by May 2026. Businesses in countries as diverse as Australia, Italy, New Zealand and Spain are now labelling their products in the entirely reasonable expectation that Ireland is implementing its stated law.' Gilheany also said it is 'entirely disingenuous' for government ministers to suggest that Ireland should wait for an EU-wide label. 'There is no such proposal on the table and there won't be in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, Ireland's label is already on some products,' she continued. 'This is an opportunity for Ireland to lead the way, rather than allowing the alcohol industry to hold back life-saving public health measures.' With reporting from Christina Finn Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Enterprise Minister slammed for requesting delay in introducing health labelling of alcohol
ALCOHOL ACTION IRELAND has said it is 'outrageous' that Enterprise Minister Peter Burke 'formally intervened' to request that the introduction of health warnings on alcohol bottles be delayed. It added that Burke used 'spurious industry misinformation as grounds for such a call'. In response to a question tabled by Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney, Burke said that he had asked Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to 'consider pausing' the introduction of health warning labels on alcohol. The labels were due to come into force from 22 May 2026 following the introduction of a law in 2023 by then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. The law means the labels of alcohol products will state the calorie content and grams of alcohol in the product. They will also warn about the risk of consuming alcohol when pregnant and the risk of liver disease and fatal cancers from alcohol consumption. However, Tánaiste Simon Harris last month signalled that there would delay to the rollout over concerns about the global trade environment. In his written response to Gibney, Burke also referred to 'recent global economic uncertainty'. He added that Ireland should 'not take any steps that would erode the relative competitiveness of Ireland's enterprise base'. 'In order to navigate these uncertain times, it makes sense to focus on those factors which fall within our domestic sphere of control,' said Burke. He then revealed that he had recently penned correspondence to MacNeill 'expressing my concern that the proposed measures would mean increased production and sale costs for Irish producers and importers'. He added that the health labels could 'potentially add to the price payable by consumers at a time when prices are also rising due to a multitude of other factors'. 'Notwithstanding the overarching health benefits of the proposal, I requested my colleague to consider pausing the introduction of the proposed new requirements,' said Burke. He added that this would 'provide the opportunity to work with the Commission on progressing a harmonised set of EU-wide regulations and reinforce our approach of seeking to reduce regulatory fragmentation in the Internal Market'. However, Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) said that the 'legal onus' will be on retailers, not producers or importers, to ensure products are labelled. 'A supermarket or off-licence can simply add a sticker to the product,' said AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany. And while Burke said a pause would allow an opportunity to work with the EU Commission on a 'harmonised' set of EU-wide regulations, Gilheany said 'such a move has already been shot down due to intense industry lobbying'. 'There will be no harmonised EU labelling, rather, each country, Ireland included, must go it alone or have no warnings whatsoever,' said Gilheany. She added: 'AAI needs to ask is there anyone in government who is standing up for Department of Health policy?' Gilheany also said that Burke 'mentioned many red herrings as grounds for delaying labelling' and that it is 'crystal clear there will be no harmonised EU-wide labelling'. She added that the EU Commission has ruled that Ireland's labelling regulations would not constitute a barrier to trade or the single market. 'Ireland needs to be the standard-bearer for alcohol just like we were for smoking,' said Gilheany. 'Other countries are watching Ireland closely on alcohol labelling ready to follow our lead, just like they did with smoking.' She added that a delay to introducing labelling will have consequences and that it is 'unconscionable, but unsurprising, that the alcohol industry opposes health information labelling'. Gilheany added that many senior politicians are dealing with a serious issue in an unserious manner. 'Consciously spouting industry misinformation that puts a price on Irish lives is shameful,' she added. Meanwhile, Gilheany remarked that Taoiseach Micheál Martin is 'rightly held in the highest regard thanks to his leadership around Ireland's smoking regulations'. 'He knows all too well the power of industry lobbying having faced down the tobacco industry then. 'The eyes of the world are on Ireland again and AAI is strongly urging the Taoiseach to resist industry lobbying once more and proceed as planned with alcohol labelling's introduction in May 2026.' Advertisement Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Half of Ukraine's EU accession clusters already screened, says bloc
The process of screening Ukrainian legislation for compliance with EU law as part of accession negotiations has reached the halfway mark. The report on Cluster 1, Fundamentals, has been submitted to the EU Council, while reports on Cluster 2, Internal Market, and Cluster 6, External Relations, are expected by the end of June. The screening process is set to conclude in autumn 2025. Source: Guillaume Mercier, spokesperson for the European Commission, at the request of a European Pravda correspondent Details: Mercier stated that as part of the EU-Ukraine accession negotiations, the European Commission's screening report on Cluster 1 is complete. Reports on Clusters 2 and 6 will be submitted to the EU Council by the end of Poland's EU presidency in June, with three additional reports on the remaining clusters expected by the end of 2025, during Denmark's presidency. "Since the opening of accession negotiations, Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable commitment, moving forward steadily on key reforms, despite war raging. The Commission has delivered the fastest screening process to date – we are over half-way through, and the process should be finalised in autumn 2025," Mercier noted. "For the opening of negotiations on Cluster 1, the Council is now in the driving seat – and there is a consensus among 26 EU Member States [out of 27] to move ahead to open negotiations on Cluster 1," he said. In response to a question about Hungary's ongoing blockade of the opening of Cluster 1, Fundamentals, in Ukraine accession talks, and possible ways to overcome the Hungarian veto, the spokesperson emphasised: "The Commission is working with the Polish Presidency to identify solutions". "We must also address the particular concerns in certain Member States. This is why the Commission has personally invested energy to facilitate discussions between Hungary and Ukraine regarding the position of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine," said Mercier. He added that "all sides involved need to show good faith and willingness to reach compromises, this is in the EU's DNA". The European Commission spokesperson also mentioned the screening process for other clusters, which is ongoing in parallel. "To this day, we have achieved the screening of half of the clusters (Cluster 1 screening report has been submitted to the Council on 16 January 2025; the reports for Cluster 2 and Cluster 6 will reach the Council still during the Polish Presidency; the screening for the remaining Clusters will be finalised and the reports will reach the Council by the end of 2025, during the Danish Presidency)," he told European Pravda. He also explained that the screening process itself "will continue until autumn 2025". "Given the speed of the screening, the Commission is of the opinion that all clusters could be open this year, pending the approval from the Member States," Mercier concluded. Background: Earlier, sources told European Pravda that Moldova could open the first cluster in negotiations with the EU before Ukraine. In particular, Moldova will have completed the screening of four of the six clusters by the end of May 2025. As for Ukraine, Budapest has blocked the opening of the first negotiating cluster. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has publicly voted against Ukraine's membership in the EU in a Hungarian poll. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
