Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The role played by alcohol in acts of sexual violence is undeniable. A fact sheet published yesterday by RCNI details various aspects of this serious problem, and I have carefully considered its recommendations. These include a call to limit the availability of alcohol, a proposal that marketing of alcohol should be regulated, or better regulated, and support for the introduction of alcohol pricing policies.

In addition to this and similar reports in the past, the report of the national substance misuse strategy steering group was launched earlier this year. The group was charged with identifying actions to deal with the harm caused by alcohol use and misuse. In its report, a series of harm patterns and the impacts of alcohol and alcohol misuse were identified. We were informed, for example, that 88 deaths every month in 2008 were caused by alcohol and that one in four deaths among young men are estimated to be due to alcohol, which compares with one in 12 deaths due to cancer and one in 25 due to cardiovascular disease. We learned that alcohol was a contributory factor in half of all suicides and incidents of deliberate self-harm and also increases the risk of more than 60 medical conditions, including some cancers. Alcohol misuse was associated with 2,000 bed occupancies every day in acute hospitals, with a quarter of injuries presenting to emergency departments and with 7,866 admissions in 2010 to specialised addiction treatment centres. In addition, alcohol was identified as a trigger in a third of domestic abuse cases in 2005. Alcohol abuse cost the health care system €1.2 billion in 2007, in addition to an estimated €1.19 billion in the same year arising from alcohol-related crime. The steering group noted that 1.5 million Irish drinkers consume alcohol in what they describe as a "harmful pattern".

One of the studies that informed the work of the steering group was the 2009 report entitled Rape and Justice in Ireland, a national study of survivor, prosecutor and court responses to rape by Conor Hanly and others. This study shows that decisions on the consumption of alcohol made by both men and women can have the effect of facilitating the incidence of rape and making the detection and prosecution of sexual crimes more difficult. It indicates, moreover, that alcohol consumption affects decisions on whether to report alleged rape.

Taking this together with all the other evidence considered by the steering group, it is clear there is an irrefutable need for action to be taken across a number of policy areas, including pricing, access, availability and marketing of alcohol. In this context, I assure the Deputy that real and tangible proposals are currently being finalised on foot of the recommendations of the substance misuse report. I intend to submit these proposals to the Government for consideration and approval as soon as possible. I reiterate that these proposals cover all the areas mentioned in the report, including legislation on minimum unit pricing - in other words, setting a statutory floor price per unit of alcohol; the issue of access and availability of alcohol, covering structural separation in retail units where alcohol is sold; and advertising and sponsorship.

I and my officials are in continuing discussions with the Departments of Justice and Equality, Transport, Tourism and Sport and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources on aspects of these proposals. These ongoing discussions relate in particular to structural separation, sponsorship, and advertising. Obviously, the Government's main preoccupation in recent weeks has been with the budget, and so these discussions have not yet been concluded. However, I expect to make progress on this important and necessary plan of action early in the new year, when a package of proposals will be brought to the Government for decision. I emphasise that I have the full support of the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, with regard to proceeding with this plan of action.

In the meantime, work on developing a framework for the necessary legislation is continuing. For example, a health impact assessment is being commissioned in conjunction with Northern Ireland as part of the process of developing a legislative basis for minimum unit pricing. Scotland commissioned the same sort of assessment before it drafted its legislation on minimum unit pricing a short time ago. This North-South health impact assessment will study the effects of different minimum prices on consumption, together with their likely economic impact. I am personally deeply committed to the introduction of minimum unit pricing, but I want to ensure we do this properly and in a way that will withstand legal challenge.

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