Publicans lobbied to ban sale of alcohol at sports clubhouses

A trade association representing Dublin’s publicans had lobbied the Government to ban the sale of alcohol at sports clubhouses instead of prohibiting drinks companies from sponsoring sports events.

The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) made the proposal to the previous health minister, James Reilly, as part of its submission on the Government’s Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which is expected to come before the Oireachtas this year.

“We believe that a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sports events would be completely ineffective and would not achieve any of the objectives in terms of reducing underage access to, and consumption of, alcohol,” LVA CEO Donall O’Keeffe wrote on July 15, 2013.