Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too welcome Ian and Eimear here today. I want to say “Wow!” but I am not sure whether that is for winning the Young Scientist of the Year Award or for their presentation today. Both deserve huge congratulations.

All too often, when people talk about alcohol and young people they think about young people’s consumption, but the witnesses have turned the issue on its head. They have provided not only their own evidence but also the statistics on which we need to base our work. That is very useful. This is a children’s rights issue, for those children who consume alcohol and also because of the indirect effects of alcohol consumption on children and young people, including domestic violence, which has clear links to alcohol.

One figure that jumped out at me is that one-fifth of parents surveyed were not concerned about their child being supplied with alcohol by another parent. One-fifth of parents are not concerned that other adults can flout the law and buy alcohol for children. I find that really startling. I had assumed that the people who did that were not parents. I hope that figure, as well as the other research, gets headlines. Parents and adults must think about that and answer serious questions. Why is it okay to introduce alcohol to children and adolescents when we know its harmful effects?

I am also interested in what Ian and Eimear said about sport and music and the promotion of alcohol. They were present for our last session on this issue. They call clearly for a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sports. We should perhaps send this presentation to the Minister for Health, given that it contains some evidence for this call.