Ms Suzanne Costello:

Senator O'Donnell initially referenced the situation in Galway a few weeks ago, Messy Mondays and various other nights. The difficulty for universities or any group that tries to take an initiative - I am not absolutelyau faitwith this but, as I understand it, the university in Galway did not have any involvement as rag week was cancelled and this was organised by the bar owners or fast food outlet owners in the city - or anybody who tries to do the right thing, and we have seen the USI trying to do the right thing and take responsibility for students' health, is that society is working against them, and that is why the measures outlined in the public health (alcohol) Bill that have been spoken about today and spoken about so widely will construct a society that facilitates people doing the right thing, behaving correctly. Even if somebody wants to take the initiative and try to implement these measures, they will be overwhelmed by the availability, cheapness and heavy marketing of alcohol. That precludes anyone taking an initiative from being successful unless policy measures and regulation are brought in to support people in taking the right steps both from a public health perspective and from a crime and public order perspective.