Dr. John Holmes:

This is a difficult issue. The low risk drinkers are largely unaffected but they are affected to a small degree. Although costs for the harm caused by alcohol vary, they run into several billion euro in Ireland. The low risk drinkers are paying for that, through taxes and as victims of some of the problems such as alcohol-related crime and the general social disorder. Some victims of alcohol-related harm are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. The poor suffer worse consequences of their drinking than the better off. There are victims of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence, the broader victims of alcohol-related crime and the dependent drinkers whose drinking is facilitated and perpetuated by the availability of cheap alcohol. It is for the Government to balance the different priorities and reach a decision. There are solid arguments about why everyone in society should make a contribution to reducing the harm alcohol causes because that will benefit society as a whole and some of the most vulnerable people in society.