Geoffrey Shannon: Scrap all alcohol sports adverts

The Government should scrap all alcohol advertising of sport events immediately, the special rapporteur on children has said.

Speaking last night before the Oireachtas committee on health and children, Geoffrey Shannon said “the failure on the part of society to comprehensively address the alcohol problem leaves the child protection system to deal with insurmountable consequences”, and so the ban on advertising should be brought in.

In a hard-hitting and lengthy presentation to the committee, Mr Shannon, who is also chairman of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, also said laws should be drafted to limit the disclosure of child therapy notes in abuse cases, and that cyberbullying should be made a specific offence as existing legislation is not strong enough.