Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to speak on this motion and I compliment Deputy Twomey on tabling it. By accepting this motion, the Government would show that it intends to deal with this problem. The Government has a vested interest in alcohol because of the tax income it earns from it. When one calculates the amount earned in taxation and the amount spent in hospitals, common sense suggests something should be done to resolve the problem. If we made the same effort to deal with the drink problem as we made to implement the ban on smoking in the workplace, we would have a better society. Abuse of alcohol is too widely accepted by the general population and by the Government. When someone has cancer, people say he or she must be treated but the response to someone on the street who is drunk and abusive is to pity the poor fellow. No other disease evokes such sympathy but it should not receive it.

People should be made to take responsibility for themselves. For example, I was in a hospital late one night for an emergency when a person who was intoxicated was brought in following an accident in a pub. Twenty-one members of his family arrived and created chaos in the hospital. I must be politically correct so I will not name the section of society from which these people came or the media will attack me. Anyone would know of whom I speak. Eventually, the gardaí were called to remove the people from the hospital because the medical staff could not do their job and the people who were genuinely sick were frightened by this behaviour. It is wrong that medical professionals who must deal with the sick, injured and traumatised should also be faced with people who are drunk.

The extension of opening hours in licensed premises was a scandal because the Government conceded to the vested interests. As a result, thousands of people come onto the streets at the same time in the middle of the night in every town and village. This not only applies to Dublin but is true of Mayo and the west as well. It is not safe to be on the streets at night because people are drinking and misbehaving.

The time has come to take on the drink culture, like it or not. I compliment the "Prime Time" programme on showing us what happens at night. Sometimes politicians are out late and see the thuggish behaviour of people coming out of nightclubs onto the streets. This problem must be cleaned up. When a politician goes into a pub, within three minutes he or she is cornered for the night by a drunk. No matter what one does, it is impossible to get rid of him. The first thing the politician wants to do is leave. I could tell a story on this topic but it might not be suitable for this House.

Something must be done about the drink culture. Hospital staff must be protected. It is bad enough that people who are genuinely sick must be there without having to put up with this kind of nonsense. The Garda Síochána probably will not be able to police these departments because they find it difficult enough to police towns and villages.

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