Mr. Bobby Smith:

I add my congratulations to Mr. O'Sullivan and Ms Murphy. As someone who has conducted some research in this area, I was impressed and a little jealous when I read the report. It was an area of study I had considered exploring, but had never been able to come up with an easy way of doing it. This is not to say Mr. O'Sullivan and Ms Murphy's methodology was easy; it is comprehensive. It is fabulous that they obtained information from teenagers and parents. Others have considered parents or teenagers alone, but having both is what makes it fascinating. It is great to have Irish evidence that confirms what has been observed internationally, that parents exert a significant influence and that liberal or casual attitudes on the part of parents towards their own or their teenagers' drinking increase risk.

Senator Jillian van Turnhout and Deputy Sandra McLellan appeared upset and surprised at the number of parents who had seemed to be providing alcohol for teenagers. I speak to parents regularly in schools. By the time teenagers reach the age of 16 or 17 years, many parents believe they are doing the right thing by giving their children alcohol. Once they have made that decision, some of them also believe it is okay to allow other parents to offer drink in what they view as a controlled environment. For whatever reason, they have been caused to believe drinking by teenagers is inevitable. As a result, they give permission in a misguided effort to exert control. However, the international evidence and this new Irish evidence indicates that once teenagers are given permission by parents to drink alcohol, they seem to give themselves permission to drink even more than they are already drinking. Rather than helping, it makes matters worse. There is, therefore, a lack of understanding. There is a middle class notion that, by giving kids alcohol at home, one is somehow doing the right thing when, in fact, it does not work.

To respond to Deputy Michael Creed's comment on the Holy Grail, the ultimate challenge is to try to change cultural attitudes, not just towards drink particularly but specifically to getting drunk. As a society, we have a particularly tolerant attitude towards getting drunk, whether one is 16 or 60 years of age. However, I am optimistic that legislation is an important first step. For example, in terms of drink driving, it seems that the legislation came first and the shift in attitude followed. It is a clear message from our leaders - that is what committee members are - for the first time ever in identifying alcohol as a health issue and putting in place measures to begin turning the tide. This will assist the public. In fact, there already appears to be momentum among the public towards recognising this as a health issue, about which we as individuals, adults, teenagers and parents need to do more.