Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Cuffe for sharing time. I am delighted to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill.

When discussing issues such as drugs and alcohol, one always feels one is showing signs of one's age and that one sounds like one's grandmother. However, I am not going to pass up the opportunity to sound like my grandmother or the Minister of State's for that matter.

Clearly, alcohol is a gateway drug which, for young people, opens up the way to an entirely new culture. People are increasingly drinking at a young age. The difficulties we face are clear, particularly when one analyses some of the statistics. The statistics to which I refer indicate that 28% of all attendances at accident and emergency departments in acute hospitals in respect of injuries are alcohol-related, that alcohol was a contributory factor in 36% of all fatal crashes, that it was also a factor in 25% of severe domestic abuse cases and that 46% of those who had committed homicide were intoxicated.

We must, as a society, address the problems to which the consumption of alcohol gives rise. Politicians or political institutions will not be able to deal with this matter on their own. Action must be taken in consultation with parents and the Government. Everyone has a role to play. Gordon Holmes and the alcohol advisory group have done excellent work in crystallising the difficulties and challenges we face.

While it is clear that the Bill will not solve all our difficulties, it represents another step towards tackling many of the issues to which I refer. Deputy Cuffe referred to the problem of binge drinking. Such drinking is a very visible problem among young people. The introduction of alcopops such as fat frogs and others has, in the case of young people, made drinking trendy. When I was young, I did not drink. However, my friends used to hide the fact that they were drinking. They used to go to the bottom of the local field where they could not be seen or heard, except on occasion. It is almost a badge of honour now for young people to be seen walking around with bags or trays of cans of alcohol. I am concerned that it is almost trendy to be seen weighed down with alcohol on one's way to the local field, someone's house or wherever it is that young people drink these days.

During the period 1999 to 2005 the number of juvenile offences almost trebled. That is a matter of concern. I have two young children who, thankfully, have not yet reached drinking age. However, it is worrying for parents to face the eventuality of their children going off to hang out with their friends. One must give one's children a certain degree of independence but one must also know their whereabouts and have some control over them, which is becoming increasingly difficult. In certain areas of my constituency children gather each Friday evening to drink outside the shops. This is a cause of grave concern for people who live in those areas and the Garda, which is not in a position to solve the problem. This Bill will certainly make it easier to address difficulties as they arise on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening. Gardaí will now have the power to seize alcohol. The problem does not only arise in respect of young people because my age group does not set a good example for our children. In Temple Bar, adults are rolling out of pubs incoherent and unstable. That happens all over the city.

The Government needs to support cultural change through legislation, as it did in the past when drink driving was not regarded as a serious offence. The practice is now frowned upon thanks to a mixture of legislation and education. This Bill will support those who are trying to address alcohol abuse in Ireland.

Supermarkets are a serious problem in terms of below cost selling. The Competition Authority would say that below cost selling cannot be prohibited for competition reasons but when it has such a social impact we, as legislators, must override the authority's rigid adherence to the free market. Some form of regulation is needed. Petrol stations appear to be a problem in terms of easy access to alcohol. I would prefer that petrol stations sell nothing but petrol, although I appreciate the severe problems this would cause in rural areas. I am speaking from a Dublin perspective and acknowledge that many rural petrol stations have morphed into community shops and have become the centres of village life in many places. Simply banning petrol stations from selling beer would not suffice but it might be considered within city limits. In the city centre and the suburbs, the sale of alcohol in garages is clearly a problem.

I welcome the Minister's proposed changes in respect of early houses. While they may not be the place to drink fine wines, early houses play an important part in Dublin's inner city and working class communities. Many of them are frequented by taxi drivers and shift workers.

This Bill is a good step forward and I have no hesitation in supporting it.

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