Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)

We have been talking for a long time about the need for Government action to tackle the very many problems caused to Irish society by alcohol abuse. That day has finally come for what looks like being a partial Bill to do something about it. As has been said, Fine Gael supports it, though with some serious reservations, which I will touch on later. For the most part this Bill is a good start, although I agree with Deputy Rabbitte that much more needs to be done. I assume we will deal with much more substantial aspects of alcohol abuse and intoxicating liquor after the recess.

Alcohol abuse affects every strata of society, age group and socioeconomic class, male and female. Along with the considerable human misery it causes — ruining relationships, marriages and families, leading to underage sex and resultant pregnancies, social problems, mental health issues and public order offences — it places a considerable financial burden on society. That is why, while it may be much more politically advantageous to concentrate spending on public capital projects such as the extension of the Luas or a metro system, shiny, bright new infrastructure and services that will gain kudos from the public, there should be much more investment in social capital. That is a moral obligation which we, as legislators, cannot and should not ignore. Ignoring it, unfortunately, will not make it go away. On the contrary, our head in the sand approach to the problem up to now has allowed it to get worse.

There must be a much more cohesive strategy in time to deal with the problems we face. This strategy must come from the public health sections of the Department of Health and Children and the HSE, and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government via the Planning and Development Act, which allows the opening of certain facilities including fast food outlets and the opening hours attached to businesses selling alcohol. The Departments of Arts, Sport and Tourism and Education and Science must also join together to try to deal with the problem once and for all. Drunkenness in the streets is what we see at one end of the scale. If that strategic, cohesive campaign was put together well once, we would be able to deal with many of those problems. It is a complex and deep-rooted problem and because of that there is no easy, quick fix solution. That is why we need to take action which deals with the issue in a comprehensive way that is practical and workable.

There is much talk about drug abuse, however the most available drug for teenagers is alcohol. There have been 96 prosecutions in five years for illegally supplying alcohol to those who are underage. Irish society does not report on others. We do not report on the local publican who gives these children drink, even though we have seen them drunk in our pubs time and again. How often has one gone out for Sunday lunch with one's family and seen people settling down for the entire afternoon to watch a match on television? How often do we later see the parents of children very drunk, the children becoming agitated and bored in the pub because they have nothing to do and no interest, and then a row breaking out? How often do we report these matters to the publicans or the Garda? We do not. There is as much onus on society and those of us who are responsible to take the matter in hand and deal with it.

The issue of underage sex, which is linked to alcohol use in pre-teens and teenagers, is a little discussed problem in this country. The prevalence of "field drinking", that is gangs of teenagers gathering in places like fields and parks to drink excessively, is known to lead to under-age sex. Some of this could be categorised as abusive, for example it has been reported to me that drunk minors engage in sexual activity with more than one person or in the company of others. Surely no right-thinking person, young or old, would ever consider this if they were not seriously drunk. We have not even begun to examine the psychological effects of such activity on those engaging in it, quite apart from unwanted pregnancies. This legislation allows the Garda to confiscate the alcohol. It is a bit late at that stage for gardaí to come and take alcohol after actions of that nature have happened.

The number of off-licences in the State has trebled in seven years. Alcohol is available in far more outlets now, such as smaller shops, service stations and the like, as well as the big supermarkets. I take issue with the many adults who buy drink for underage people. They feel they are doing them a service, but if anything they are doing them a major disservice. Many of these outlets are open too late, drink is too easily available and the Bill will try to deal with some of that.

It is not overstating the case to say advertising often glorifies the use of alcohol. We are shown images of groups of friends gathering in pubs, getting the pints in, all good cheer and friendly chat. Those featured are often depicted as being heroes. The link with sports needs to be seriously questioned. The inclusion of professional sports people, whom young people look up to and see as role models, is a matter of concern. The subliminal message being sent out all the time is that alcohol is cool. Little or no message is sent out about the associated problems of alcohol abuse. There is very little reporting that many professional sports people do not drink alcohol. One cannot play, train and perform at the necessary level for professional sports and participate in drink. Some do, but they do not achieve the top level and few of them drink any longer. That message is never put out there. The only message that gets out is of the famous sports person supporting drink or one of the outlets for the provision of drink, and nobody knows whether he or she drinks. I know of some sports people who receive significant funds to promote these products although they do not drink at all, and certainly would not drink some of the products they promote.

Tougher measures must be demonstrated to publicans who offend and it must be shown that they will not be allowed to get away with it. There must be zero tolerance and after a period of time or a number of convictions the message will get through that the harsher penalties will cause a significant problem for anybody who is prepared to ignore the legislation.

Nightclub opening hours are of concern to this side of the House. Gardaí have expressed serious concern over the years about the level of public order offences committed in the time immediately following the closure of nightclubs. Deputy Joe Carey and I still frequent nightclubs on occasion, although not as often as we used to, and it is very obvious to us that when the nightclubs all close at one particular time everybody ends up on the streets looking for a taxi and a burger at more or less the same time. It is a problem that needs to be dealt with and sequential closing is a method of doing this.

The Planning and Development Act needs to be revisited with regard to the closing of fast food outlets. It is crazy that some fast food outlets which have revamped their premises have a condition of planning that they must close at a particular time while older ones which have not revamped or remodelled do not have conditions of planning. Some are obliged to close and others are not, which is unfair and must be dealt with.

In the next session, I would like to see a cohesive strategy coming from Government. This Bill is a step in the right direction and I will not be critical of it. However, we must consider all positive matters so that young adults can go out, have a good time and have a few drinks without getting drunk out of their minds.

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