Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue that poses challenges for us a country. I hope we will all agree on tackling this issue in a meaningful way in the coming months.

The finding to which the Deputy refers comes from a joint Headstrong/UCD survey entitled '"My World", which interviewed more than 14,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 25, the objective of which was to deepen what we know about young people's mental health so that we can be more sensitive to their real needs. The number one health issue for young people is their mental health and good mental health in adolescence is a requirement for their optimal psychological development. In that regard, I am encouraged to see from the survey that the majority of young people interviewed were found to be functioning well across a variety of mental health indicators. I fully accept, however, the points the Deputy made about other critical findings in the survey.

We must be as proactive as we possibly can in developing and promoting better services to support young people's mental health. It is clear from the survey that the period between the ages of 15 and 25 is critical in their development, and if we can identify issues as they emerge, research tells us that early and brief intervention prevents people from experiencing lifetimes of pain and lost opportunities. Additional funding of €35 million was provided in the budget for mental health services, a significant portion of which will be used to strengthen and complete the professional profile of community mental health teams, including child and adolescent teams. We must make renewed efforts to encourage young people to seek help when they are in difficulty. It is clear that those who share their problems enjoy better mental health so we need to reach out to those around us who may be in distress, to engage with them and to encourage them to seek help.

Having regard to the specific issue of harmful drinking behaviour in teenagers and young adults, the report of the National Substance Misuse Strategy Steering Group launched last February is the roadmap for the future direction of policy in Ireland to deal with the use and misuse of alcohol. The steering group reported that Irish children are drinking from a younger age and drinking more than ever before. It added that more than half of Irish 16 year old children have been drunk and one in five is a weekly drinker. Furthermore, it declared that alcohol marketing leads to young people commencing drinking at a younger age and drinking more. In this respect, it found that Irish 16 to 21 year olds list alcohol advertisements as five of their top ten favourite advertisements.

We as a society can no longer tolerate the level of alcohol abuse in this country, particularly among young people. There is no room for ambivalence in our approach. My Department is now working on developing an action plan on alcohol, based on the recommendations in the substance misuse strategy report. I expect its recommendations will enjoy cross-party support when we move to implement them in the coming months.

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