Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I pay tribute to the delegation for their fantastic presentation, which has been very well researched. I agree with previous speakers in that it is a very valuable document and we must take it very seriously.

Our attitude towards drinking was summed up to me in the past week when I spoke to somebody who had returned from holidays. Half an hour into the flight, the crew of the aircraft asked for medical assistance from among the passengers, and when a medical person went to help, it turned out that the person requiring help was a passenger suffering from withdrawal, as that person had been drinking at least 14 units of alcohol per day on holidays.

This leads me to my question. I agree fully about minimum pricing, but what needs to be done in addition to that? I am thinking particularly about what needs to be done to educate young people when they are starting off in college. There is a university and an institute of technology in the area I represent. I have seen a huge change in drinking patterns over the last ten years. Young people are now buying drink, particularly spirits, to consume in their own apartments. The disadvantage of that change is that there are no measures when one is drinking in one's own apartment. On the basis of their experience, what do the witnesses consider to be the best way to transmit information to young people? What changes would they make in this whole area? Do they believe there are no changes that can be made? Is there evidence from other countries of how drinking among young people was dealt with? When young people start in college, it is the first time they have real freedom, especially if they are staying away from home. It is an extremely important time as regards getting the message out. Their behaviour during those years can set the pattern for the rest of their lives. Does the research group have any evidence of how other countries are dealing with that? How have they tackled it?