Ban on TV and radio ads for alcohol before 9pm to come into effect in January 2025

'The broadcast watershed provision aims to reduce children and young people’s exposure to advertisements for alcohol products,' a Department of Health spokesperson said. Picture: Johnny Green/PA Wire

A new watershed on alcohol adverts that will see them banned during the day will be brought in in January 2025, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The latest enactment of provisions of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill will bring strict advertising rules on TV and radio that will change the time adverts for beers, wines, and spirits could be shown.

Under the law, no alcohol ads could be shown during the day, and only for a limited time in the evening.

It will mean alcohol joins gambling in being banned on the airwaves and on television prior to 9pm under new proposals set to be introduced by Government.

On radio, the watershed will apply from midnight to 10am, and then from 3pm to midnight.

Under a statutory instrument signed by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly this week, the alcohol broadcast watershed will take effect on January 10, 2025.

A department spokesperson said: “One of the primary objectives of the [bill] is to delay the initiation of alcohol consumption by children and young people. The evidence is consistent that the advertising of alcohol products increases the likelihood that young people will start to drink alcohol or, if they are already drinking, to drink more.

“The broadcast watershed provision aims to reduce children and young people’s exposure to advertisements for alcohol products. The section prohibits alcohol advertising during times when children are likely to be in the audience for both TV and radio.” 

If this watershed is not adhered to, those responsible will be “guilty of an offence”, which could result in court proceedings.

While the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill was passed and signed into law in 2018, the actual provisions in it have been introduced on a phased basis since then.

This has included separating alcohol from other products in shops and supermarkets and minimum-unit pricing on alcohol.

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Section 19 on the broadcast watershed is one of the few remaining measures still to be fully implemented from the bill.

Provisions that will see health warnings on the labels of alcohol products, which drew consternation from other EU nations and the drinks industry, is due to come into operation on May 22, 2026, following a three-year lead-in time.

Another key section yet to be introduced regulates the content of advertisements. As per the legislation, advertisements would only be able to feature very specific features of the product, such as references to the product itself, where it is from, how it is produced, and “an objective description of [its] flavour, colour, and smell”.

Depending on the regulations set out by Government, it may mean the current adverts seen on TV for alcohol here may have to radically change. However, no timeline has yet been set out for this process.

In response to a recent parliamentary question, Mr Donnelly said: “Once finalised, the draft regulations will require submission to the EU Commission for assessment and once they have successfully completed that process, they will require notification under the World Trade Organization process.”