Labour wages war on drink culture

THE drinks industry should be forced to pay the Government a special levy of up to €40m to fund education programmes for young people, Labour’s Joe Costello has said.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of a new Labour Party policy document on alcohol, Deputy Costello suggested the levy should at least equal the €38m annually that the drinks industry spends on advertising.

Labour’s policy document points out that Irish people drink 56% more than the EU average and sets out a range of proposals to tackle the issue which include: