Dáil debates

Wednesday, 11 May 2005

 

Accident and Emergency Services: Motion (Resumed).

7:00 pm

Photo of John MoloneyJohn Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Private Members' motion. While I do not agree with the expressed wish in the motion I understand the sense of it and where the Opposition is coming from. Unlike most Private Members' motions, this is not a political device but an attempt to deal with an issue that is causing much concern throughout the health services. That so many people are attending accident and emergency units by way of drink-related abuse creates a problem for us all.

I do not wish to refer to many studies, but the health promotion unit in its study makes the point that 30% of male admissions and 10% of female admissions were drink-related. We must deal with this problem. I do not concur with the idea of wet rules, although I understand the thinking behind it. By coincidence, I spent two hours last Saturday evening in the accident and emergency unit in Portlaoise. We all understand the strains and stresses placed on staff. I take Deputy Cooper-Flynn's point that the ten-point plan is geared towards city hospitals. That concerns me and the matter should be examined further.

I will focus on one issue. In the past fortnight I was invited, as chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, to a conference held by Alcohol Action Ireland dealing with alcohol abuse. Many presentations were made by people in the front line, particularly accident and emergency consultants. Those people have a specific submission to make concerning alcohol abuse and the consumption and sale of alcohol. I come from a public house background and I made the point at the conference that in dealing with alcohol abuse it is important to involve the drinks companies and the trade. Subsequent to the conference, I made contacts with representatives of the drinks trade. It is important to state that to attack the drinks trade purely for the sake of blaming it for all the ills of society is not the answer. The drinks trade has come to the understanding that for its future well-being, its members must become involved in finding the solution. When we examine the figures outlined by the group at that conference, there is a distinct problem in Ireland compared to other European countries not just with binge drinking but also under age drinking. That problem is evident in accident and emergency departments.

We should call on the drinks trade to put part of its profit, which is not meant in a negative sense, into promoting or conducting a study vis-À-vis the universities and colleges to determine the reasons Ireland is to the fore in terms of the effects of binge drinking and alcohol abuse. We must also recognise that, rather than condemning the practice for the sake of it, all the partners should be involved. As a member of the Vintners Federation of Ireland for many years, it is not in the interests of the vast majority of publicans to carry the so-called tag that the abuses and ills of society are directly related to the drinks industry. They must become involved in finding a solution.

I refer to two points made by the Tánaiste which are worth taking into account. It would be a mistake to expect short-term actions on alcohol abuse to solve the wider problems. Tackling alcohol abuse would not, for example, improve rostering to ensure patients are seen, diagnosed, treated and discharged quickly. That should be taken into account. I recognise where the motion is coming from and understand the concerns, but I agree with the Tánaiste that consultants must change their working hours, given that patients often have to stay overnight in accident and emergency units because no consultant is on duty between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.

While I support the thinking behind the motion and understand why we must tackle this issue immediately, I will not vote for it. From reading the percentages of those presenting in accident and emergency units, if we can resolve the problem in the long term, it will have a significant beneficial effect on the difficulties in our accident and emergency systems.

I support the Tánaiste in all she has done since coming to office. The ten-point plan must be a road map for us to deliver at least on commitments to resolve the accident and emergency crisis. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that the ten-point plan is not only a solution to the difficulties experienced in the major centres. A pilot study should be carried out on how what is proposed will impinge to the benefit of rural hospitals.

I support the amendment to the motion in recognition that some action must be taken to resolve the crisis. This House should invite those who have a stake in the industry to become part of the solution in terms of the difficulty caused by the abuse of alcohol.

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