Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

That is fine. People will readily say we have research but that word has been greatly abused in recent times. Those of us who work in politics use research at times to come up with various answers. We also use those famous focus groups to come up with answers that are self-serving to a great extent. I do not know what useful information is provided other than that which is already available and which everybody knows. Occasionally, we get the information dramatically wrong, such as in regard to the anticipated result of an election. Where were the focus groups in these circumstances, what were they doing and who unplugged their message centre? Research can prove anything one wishes. It can point to all kinds of solutions to all types of problems. However, if it were that effective we would not have any problems with alcohol, drink driving or any other issue good, bad or indifferent. I tend to take research with a proverbial pinch of salt.

In the general scheme of things, no one would agree with the abuse of alcohol, drink driving or family disharmony arising from the consumption of alcohol, an issue I had intended to speak about earlier. There are many households for whom the combined consumption of alcohol and drugs creates a misery. The situation of the unfortunate alcoholic who cannot break the habit, even with the best will in the world, is also sad. These people, having obtained treatment and tried everything, often still cannot break the habit. It is easy for us to say something should be done about this but it is not all that easy for those whose families are afflicted in this fashion. That one person in a family continually resorts to serious over-indulgence in alcohol resulting in abuse and violence in the household is sad and appalling. This has always been the case; the situation has not changed with the passage of time. However, people now have more disposable income than they had 25 or 30 years ago. As a result, they are spending more money in this way and never without neglect in other areas. There is a consequence and a price to pay for everything.

I hope this legislation does some good and achieves what it purports to do, something we must all hope for. I do not believe it will abolish all the problems in this area. I also hope it does not become the death knell of social life in rural Ireland for the good and obvious reason that rural Ireland has faithfully and strongly supported this country's social and economic cause down through the years and will continue to do so. I see no reason it should not continue to do so.

The new generation, young people and school leavers in particular, need to be taught responsibility. I do not know how this can be done. Many of us are parents and know well how closely young people need to be watched. There is no excuse for junior certificate students going on a binge that lasts for two days. That is totally and absolutely unnecessary. It shows an appalling lack of judgment on the part of a person so young. While most parents pay special attention to the needs of such students there will always be one or two students and parents who do not do so and this, in turn, leads to peer pressure that results in the type of issues about which we are speaking.

I hope some of the issues raised by Members of the House, which are drawn from their own experience in their dealings with the public and their knowledge of what goes on in urban and rural Ireland, are taken on board by some of the focus groups and specialists who resort to the information gleaned in surveys and opinion polls. There is nothing like the voice of the true participant in rural and urban social life in Ireland.

See this speech in context