Alcohol Bill welcomed as a foundation stone

Anton McNulty

A BALLINA man who has campaigned for controls regarding the sale of alcohol has welcomed the passing of the Alcohol Bill as a foundation stone in the battle against alcohol abuse in Ireland.
The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill passed through all stages of the DΡil last week and will return to the Seanad before before it goes to the President to be signed into law. The bill, which was first brought before the Oireachtas in 2015, paves the way for the introduction of such measures as minimum unit pricing and cancer warnings on alcohol products.
John Higgins from Ballina has campaigned for greater controls on the sale of alcohol since his son, David, drowned in the River Moy after a house party in 2011. The inquest found his death was due to suicide and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.
Speaking to The Mayo News after the passing of the bill through the DΡil, Mr Higgins described the campaign as ‘a long journey’, admitting that he doubted it would pass due to the power of the drink-industry lobby.
“To be honest with you there were times I didn’t think it would happen. You are dealing with an industry, a faceless entity, who have so much money to try to prevent this from happening. The bottom line is this is a business to them.
“This bill is not going to stop drinking, but it will be a foundation, something that can be built on. I might not see it in my lifetime, but for the generations to come it might be the start in how we deal with our relationship with alcohol,” he said.

‘Must be a record’
The introduction of the bill faced fierce opposition in the Oireachtas and Mr Higgins described the tactics of some TDs who tried to make late amendments to the bill as ‘embarrassing’.
“I understand why it takes a certain amount of time for acts and bills to go through the DΡil, but when you look at the amount of time it took the Alcohol Bill to get through, it must be a record. They were able to allow the sale of alcohol on Good Friday in double-quick time without anyone saying a word, but when it comes to doing the right thing and saving lives they kept on trying to find ways to block and delay it. It was a real eye-opener to me on how they operated,” he said.
Since his son’s inquest, John has written many letters to papers, politicians and others to highlight the negative effects that alcohol can have. While he sometimes wondered why he was bothering, he now says all the effort was worth it.
John also praised Minister of Health Simon Harris for not ‘buckling’ under the pressure of the lobby groups opposed to the bill, and applauded Fine Gael TD Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall and Senator Frances Black for their commitment to the bill.