Department of Finance consultation on the sugar-sweetened drinks (SSD) tax

In Budget 2017, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan TD, committed to introduce a sugar-sweetened drinks (SSD) tax in 2018. Given the prevalence of obesity in Ireland and the dramatic increase in obesity in Irish children, ECI fully supports this targeted public health policy measure. The Department of Finance has opened a consultation with an accompanying consultation document on how it will implement the SSD tax.

ECI has made a Submission to the Department of Finance Consultation supporting recommendations by the Irish Heart Foundation, which ECI works in partnership with on a number of health-promoting interventions in early years settings such as Bizzy Breaks and Kids Active. The recommendations are as follows:

• The SSD tax should have two rates (per 5g & per 8g per 100ml) to ensure that proportionally higher sugar products are more costly and to promote industry reformulation across their portfolio of drinks. [This would also align with the approach being taken in the UK.]

• The tax should be set at a rate to achieve a 20% increase in price. Such an increase in price is necessary to ensure behaviour change by consumers, away from high sugar drinks.

• Reflecting healthy eating guidance the following products should be defined as SSDs and included in the tax: water-based SSDs; squashes, sprays, dilutable cordials and iced drinks. As the SSD market develops, there may be the need to include new products within the scope of the tax. 

• Dairy products which are 90% milk and have less than 5% added sugar content should not be subject to the tax.

• A portion of the tax revenue should be reinvested in programmes to address childhood obesity and food poverty, supporting all to have access to healthy, nutritious food.

• The SSD tax is one in a suite of measures which will be required to reduce obesity in Ireland. The government should continue to introduce supportive measures, such as regulation of high in fat, sugar and salt marketing (HFSS) to children and the introduction of healthy food standards for post-primary schools.

ECI encourages any interested members to make their own submission to the consultation process, which closes at 5pm on Tuesday 3rd January 2017.