Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)

I welcome the strong political support for this Bill to curb intoxicating liquor consumption. I note strong support from civil society, including the alcohol industry itself, which recognises that such legislation is long overdue. I hope the time spent debating the Bill will be used wisely to iron out any deficiencies and to ensure that the Bill results in maximum effectiveness in combating alcohol abuse in Ireland.

It is now generally accepted that there is a compelling case in the context of public health and public safety to limit the widespread availability of alcohol. The onus is on Government to protect the common good of the citizens by legislating in a responsible way. This Bill is a step in the right direction. It is vital that we as legislators ensure this Bill is successful in addressing the problems and does not create unnecessary and inconvenient burdens on business and society without having real results.

The Government established the alcohol advisory group in January. The group was able to draw on a considerable level of knowledge and expertise in the course of its work. The group speedily came up with a thorough and useful report but I must note the distinct lack of inclusion of stakeholders in society, from industry and ordinary people, who might have also had something to contribute to the report.

As a nation, we have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and the statistics stemming from this relationship are stark and undeniable. Of those involved in murder or manslaughter, 46% were intoxicated at the time of their crimes. Drunkenness was a factor in more than one third of all fatal crashes. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, recently outlined CSO figures for the past four years showing a 57% rise in public order offences; a 26% rise in assaults; and a 30% rise in four categories of assault. We must question the role of alcohol in this shocking increase in public order adult offences in recent years.

A survey by IBEC reported that alcohol and alcohol-related illnesses were cited by 12% of companies as a cause of short-term absences from work for males and by 4% for women. Excessive alcohol consumption was present in a quarter of severe domestic abuse cases.

From my perspective of serving the people of North Tipperary, it is clear that alcohol use and abuse among young people needs to be strongly challenged and confronted. In this context I welcome the initiatives in the Bill whereby a garda may seek an explanation from young persons under 18 years of age in possession of alcohol and if not satisfied with the reply the garda may seize the alcohol.

Only 96 prosecutions were taken in five years against off-licences, shops, pubs and restaurants for illegally supplying alcohol to those under 18 years of age. It is hoped the introduction of frequent test purchasing of alcohol products applying to both on-licences and off-licences will weed out and severely punish offenders.

I am happy with reasonable restrictions on the advertising and marketing of alcohol to young people. The alcohol industry has been very good at associating its brands with successful and sought after lifestyles that have proven to be attractive to young people. It is also frightening to read that the 2006 national study of health behaviour in school-aged children found that half of those aged between 15 and 17 years reported being drinkers and more than one third reported having been "really drunk" in the previous 30 days. It begs that question, "What about parental responsibility?". This is one area not addressed in the Bill.

Aspects of the Bill designed to deal with persons of any age involved in nuisance and who are in possession of alcohol in a place other than a place used as a private dwelling are also welcome. I hope this is used successfully in conjunction with existing public order legislation to provide substantial powers to any garda attempting to curtail a person with alcohol causing a nuisance or annoyance to others, or where there is likely to be a danger to persons or property or a breach of the peace. The real benefit of the new powers is that they will permit early intervention by the Garda and will help to prevent offences taking place. I hope these new powers are wielded responsibly and for the public good by the hard-working members of our Garda force.

From my perspective in North Tipperary, it is remarkable and regrettable that the traditional public house as we know it, which for generations has provided a controlled and safe environment for people to have a social drink, has gone into serious decline. The pub sector has been decimated with approximately 1,000 public houses closed in the past three years. This is worrying when statistics show that alcohol consumption is increasing and the role of the controlled environment of the public house is diminishing. The balance is shifting towards the unregulated area of private drinking and for me this is a concern from both social and health perspectives.

Regarding retailers, I welcome the recent consultation by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, with stakeholders in the area and his announcement last night that he is now well disposed to deferring implementation of section 8. It is common sense that if independent verification of compliance were to show that the code is being implemented effectively throughout the country and achieving its objectives through structural separation, it will not be necessary to commence the enforcement of section 8.

If one manages a convenience store, there is nothing convenient about being required to queue for a second time to purchase a bottle of wine. It is a significant and costly imposition to require a small trader to reconfigure his mixed trading premises so that alcohol sales are not only separated from other sales but that a barrier is erected, thus requiring dedicated staff. I cannot see the purpose of this part of the legislation and I welcome the Minister's recent common sense comments on the issue.

I am also pleased to note that the Bill includes a new statutory requirement to have a CCTV system in place in premises such as nightclubs and late bars. It is hoped this will curtail offences and identify any perpetrators of offences at these venues.

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