Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

The reasons I raise this issue are twofold. First, a report was published today which analysed suicides in Cork over a three year period. It was quite disturbing in view of the fact that behind the statistics I personally knew some of the people who had taken their own lives for whatever reason. There is a need to implement the national substance misuse strategy and to address the issue of alcohol once and for all in society. I hope we will not park the issue and refer it to a committee that will wait for ages before a sub-committee issues a report. We know for certain, and all the statistical data show, that alcohol is a major contributory factor to mental health problems and suicide in this country. The recent report found that 80% of young males who took their lives were abusing alcohol for a year prior to their committing suicide. For all those reasons I urge the Government to implement the substance misuse strategy as quickly, efficiently and effectively as possible.

Recently we witnessed disturbances and anti-social behaviour connected with a concert in the Phoenix Park. Thousands of people congregate on a regular basis in this country and no difficulties arise but it is a recipe for disaster where there is a cocktail of cheap drink sloshing around the system and the use of illegal and other substances in terms of anti-social behaviour, damage to individuals, collective damage to society and, in this unfortunate case, deaths.

According to the World Health Organisation, tackling alcohol pricing is one of the most effective policies a government can undertake to reduce alcohol consumption and associated alcohol-related harm. We have taken action on tobacco. We adopted the policy of increasing prices to decrease consumption and of making advertising less attractive so as to reduce consumption. I do not blame the Government but it is unfortunate that we have done the exact opposite with alcohol. Collectively, the Government and the people should try to limit the availability of cheap alcohol, in particular to younger people. For all those reasons I urge the Minister to follow up on the report commissioned by the Suicide Support and Information System, the National Suicide Research Foundation and Dr. Ella Arensman. It brings home the impact of alcohol on society and on individuals who are already under pressure, who may have mental health issues and use alcohol as a crutch and for escapism, and who end up in a situation where further depression leads to self-harm or suicide.

I was a little disappointed at the Cabinet's response to the proposals on the advertising of alcohol. Let us have such a debate, but the Government should at least introduce minimum pricing for alcohol. That would automatically make drink more expensive and less available to people. We can have a debate on the other issue again but we should not let it slow this issue down. It is critically important for us to show, collectively, as a society that we acknowledge that we have a problem with alcohol in this country.

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