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”.

“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