Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. As a country, we must face up to the difficulties caused by alcohol abuse. The HSE's report in April highlighted some of the negative impacts of alcohol abuse both to people's health and to society. It is important, however, that Members should consider its role in issues such as domestic violence, murder, manslaughter and public order offences as being a factor, rather than their sole cause, in order that it is not perceived to be an excuse. I share the concerns expressed by the Minister regarding alcohol abuse among young people and I will return to this point briefly.

However, in addressing this problem and the need for cultural change, honesty is required in this debate. When dealing with the abuse caused by a minority as a result of irresponsible drinking, Members have a tendency to introduce measures to restrict the free will of the majority who drink safely and sensibly, know not to drive, know when to go home and who simply know how to behave properly.

That said, Members must realise a cycle pertaining to drinking in Ireland has been passed from generation to generation and the majority of social events have an alcohol component. Adults, in their frequent lamentations about the behaviour of young people regarding drink, must realise that behaviour is learned and the attitudes of young people frequently, although perhaps not always, reflect the circumstances in which they were brought up, as well as the attitude of their families and peers to alcohol.

This legislation appears to have come from a public order perspective and I welcome the clarification it will bring to the Garda's ability to seize in particular. However, the majority of alcohol consumption among minors does not take place in licensed premises. Moreover, a degree of fairness is required in this regard, particularly from the perspective of retailers. I believe that many wish to ensure the law is upheld and do not wish to sell alcohol to minors. Likewise, they do not want employees who are minors to sell alcohol. I have had the experience a few times of being at checkouts and being told by the checkout assistants that they are unable to serve me because they are under age, although I obviously am not. In the absence of a national identification card, people are being asked to uphold a law and are being told they will be punished if they do not. However, they are not being provided with a proper opportunity to verify a person's age. Effectively, this makes the legislation a half measure, which will have serious consequences if someone is convicted of serving alcohol to an under age person. I urge the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to deal with this issue when he introduces the amended version of the Intoxicating Liquor Bill that has been promised for later this year.

As for the proposed infrastructural changes in retail outlets, I remain unconvinced of the practicality and effectiveness of what was proposed originally. The costs involved would make it prohibitive for some retailers to continue selling alcohol, which obviously could give rise to competition issues and could cause difficulties for the viability of their businesses. It may be that one would be creating a "back of the shop" mentality for the sale of alcohol and I do not believe this would do anything to curtail binge drinking or excessive consumption. I believe that people enter shops with the intention of purchasing alcohol if they want it, rather than making a purchase on a spur of the moment impulse. While I have no difficulty with alcohol not being dotted throughout shops, complete segregation would prove to be impractical. Moreover, the practice of dotting alcohol throughout a shop is far more prevalent in major supermarkets than in small retail units, which lack the space to do so. In the main, small local shops are owned and run by families who act responsibly.

I wish to turn to the issue of young people and alcohol. The submission made by Youth Work Ireland on this subject was quite informative. It stated the problems young people have with alcohol happen within the context and as a direct result of a broader societal problem and cannot be ring-fenced or dealt with in isolation. While under age drinking undoubtedly is a problem that can affect young people, it is important to state it is quite natural for young people to wish to experiment and to push out their own limits. It is when they go beyond this at a young age or when drinking, particularly to excess, becomes a habit, that there is a real need for concern.

The legislation addresses this issue from a "stick" approach that is aimed at the retailer, rather than at young people. I was interested in the comments of Ruairí McKiernan of SpunOut, when he stated that young people are tired of being negatively stigmatised. They want to be listened to and get involved in what is happening in their lives, be it at home or in their class, locally or nationally.

The Ombudsman for Children's report also was informative regarding the views of young people on these types of issues. In that report, the second issue highlighted by young people was that of play and recreation. I visited a youth project in Camross, County Laois, recently that runs two nights a week between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. and 10 p.m. and 12 midnight for older teenagers. It has fantastic facilities, including DVDs, couches, PlayStations and so on and is supervised, but in a highly non-invasive way. This is the type of project that should be rolled out nationwide for young people. Similarly, I refer to the issue of providing facilities such as skateboard parks in order that people have alternatives. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to make a decision finally as to whether it will provide funding this year. I understand it has a scheme for local authorities regarding such facilities ready to go but has not received sanction to so do. If people are to be penalised for this, alternatives must be offered.

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