Professor Joe Barry:

Given that the alcohol companies are also chasing women for beer, it will be a future trend and another problem for women, on top of wine and spirits. Alcohol consumption peaked in 2002. The major contributor to the reduction occurred immediately after that when the Government was worried about alcopops and imposed a 20% excise duty on spirits. Consumption decreased precipitously because of this. It then reached a plateau and has increased in the past year. It has not been dropping steadily but dropped because of legislation. It has been mentioned today that perhaps we should defer to Europe on some of these matters. This would be kicking the can down the road and we cannot do it. We would be postponing it.

One of the greatest things a parent can do for his or children is delay the age at which they start drinking. This must be an unambiguous message for parents. It is a bad idea to introduce alcohol to children in the home. Children who begin drinking at the age of 14 or 15 have a fourfold increase in dependency in adulthood. This is why it is important the issue is taken more seriously than it has been through regulation balanced with education. The Bill is not just about children but also adults.