Minister  and Guests :

The origin of the Voluntary Code on the Display and Sale of Alcoholic products in mixed trade premises, which Minister Dermot Ahern TD is officially launching to-day, lies in the Report of the Government Alcohol Advisory Group chaired by Gordon Holmes  and completed in March last year.

The Advisory Group recommended that alcoholic products should be structurally separate from other  products in supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations. This was motivated by the Group’s belief that the display and sale of alcohol side by side with ordinary food products created the impression that alcohol is an ordinary retail product and this was especially likely in the case of young children. The Group’s report was infused with the conviction that alcoholic products are different from other retail products because of their potentially serious health and social impacts.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act of 2008 does contain a provision [ Section 9] requiring that alcoholic products would be in structurally separate premises with a dedicated check out point as envisaged in the Holmes Advisory Group Report.

However, during the course of the passage of the Bill, the representatives of the retail trade affected, proposed to Minister Dermot Ahern that  the result sought by him could be achieved  as effectively by a Voluntary Code of practice. The retailers  argued that the physical separation provisions would burden them with heavy additional capital and staff costs.

The Voluntary Code being launched officially to-day is the culmination of discussions between the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Health and Children with  the representatives of the mixed trade retailers, namely, Retail Ireland,  the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA,) and  RGDATA. I would like to recognise those  companies   who have to date formally committed themselves to the Code and represent the following national chains: SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak stores from the Musgrave Group; Spar and Mace stores from the BWG Group; Londis, Tesco, Superquinn, Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Topaz & Esso.

These 10 retailing groups  have over  2,600 stores across the country and account for some 80% of all alcohol sold in mixed trade premises. I expect that operators of other retail groups will also commit themselves formally to the Code.

If independent verification shows that the Voluntary Code is being implemented effectively across the country, Minister Ahern has stated his disposition to defer implementation of the legislative structural separation provision. Equally, he has made clear - and this is understood by adherents to the Voluntary Code – that he will not hesitate to implement the legal provision if the Voluntary Code is not effective.

So what does adherence to the Voluntary Code involve? 

• It involves putting alcoholic products in a separate area, and as far as possible, in a place through which  customers do not have to pass through in order to  get to other beverages  and food .  Customers in most stores will have noticed stores changing the display of alcohol in recent months to comply with the Code.

• In- store advertising of alcohol must be confined to the area where alcohol is displayed and there should be no  alcohol or alcohol advertising in windows.

• Alcohol must only be sold at clearly designated check out point.

• The summary of the Code must be on public display in the  store.

• There is a clear complaints procedure for members of the public who consider that a store is not complying with the Code

The Code goes beyond in-store requirements to restrictions by the participants on newspaper and radio and TV advertising: advertising of alcoholic products in newspapers or magazines cannot be more than 25% of the  retailers advertisement and alcohol only radio or TV advertising is not allowed.

Implementation of the Code requires that an independent audit and verification  mechanism be put in place to indicate if the Code is being effectively implemented. The 10 retailing groups have now formed the Responsible Retailing of Alcohol in Ireland company [RRAI] and have provided the funding for its compliance monitoring activities. I have been appointed Chairperson of the company on the invitation of the founding members and with the agreement of the Minister. In accordance with the Code, I will be making my first Annual Compliance Report to  Minister Dermot Ahern this coming September and that report will incorporate the results of  an independent  audit  of a sample of 330 of members’ stores  across  eight regions. The company has  recently appointed  a professional company to conduct this audit .

Conclusion

I have been only been able in the time available to highlight some of the Code’s contents. The full code comprising the Code for public display and the Explanatory Memorandum is on the company’s website www.rrai.ie .

The Code  is being progressively rolled out in the member stores and customers should  increasingly be conscious of it and its impact. I have been impressed so far with the commitment of the participating retailers to the Code and to the principle that alcohol is not  simply another household product. However, I cannot prejudge my Compliance Report to the Minister in September or the results of the first national audit of compliance to be conducted before then.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the foundation work for this Code by Retail Ireland and its Director Torlach Denihan and his staff; the administrative support to the company of Jerome White and the helpful briefings  I received from the Minister’s officials, Seamus Carroll and Kathleen Connolly. I would like to thank the Tesco group and their staff for facilitating this launch at their store here in Tesco Merrion.

ENDS