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Updated 12.01 pm
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Everyone’s talking about…
We’ll finally get a look at one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation in a long time today. Health Minister Leo Varadkar is set to publish the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill with the aim of making it a criminal offence to advertise alcohol irresponsibly.
The debate surrounding the control of alcohol is so contentious that there are even arguments over who can be part of it. The Stop Out-Of-Control drinking campaign in many ways pushed a smart message, but the involvement of Diageo hampered the campaign from the get-go.
And it’s lobbying like this that makes the issue so contentious. With health campaigners, alcohol companies and publicans all pursuing different interests, decisions taken by government in this area are frequently criticised for listening too much to one side.
While a total ban on alcohol sponsorship effectively been ruled out, we can expect some kind of curtailment such as a ban on pitchside alcohol advertising. The banning of alcohol advertising near schools is also something that has been suggested.
Today, we’ll also get the actual numbers behind the proposed minimum alcohol pricing. In practice, we’ll know how much a bottle of wine will be.
This is, of course, in a country that already has the most expensive alcohol in the EU.
Expect to hear the term “missed opportunity” a lot today on this issue.
Meanwhile, the fallout from Monday’s RTÉ Investigates programme continues with gardaí now understood to be examining its content to see if action is needed.
The agenda
Inside Leinster House
It’s not quite inside Leinster House, but Fine Gael general election candidates will be gathering in the Royal Irish Academy, which is a short walk from the Oireachtas, this evening for a private meeting about the party’s election plans.
Frances Fitzgerald is chairing proceedings and the candidates will hear from the Taoiseach, his chief strategist Mark Mortell and the party’s director of elections, which is expected to be confirmed as MEP Brian Hayes.
What the others are saying
In case you missed it
Good day for…
The Social Democrats. Timing is sometimes everything and their private members’ motion to establish a body to investigate and prosecute corruption could not have been timed better.
Bad day for…
Donald Trump. His proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US has been torn apart by people on all sides of the political spectrum and decried as both unconstitutional and fascist.
On the Twitter machine
Hitting your rivals where it hurts, right in the taxes.
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