Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy White, to the House and compliment him on his work in this area. I also want to acknowledge the work of the former Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, in the preparation of the alcohol strategy and legislation. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy White, he has driven this in Cabinet with the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, and taken decisions on the forthcoming alcohol Bill that could easily have been set aside.

Alcohol is costing our society €3.5 billion per annum due to the costs associated with crime, damage to public health and loss of work. This taxpayers’ money could be better spent and used. I compliment the Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, Deputy O’Mahony, on this report, which has done the House a good service, as well as the debate on the relationship between sport and alcohol. I chair the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, which produced a report in 2012 containing 13 recommendations, many of which are contained in the forthcoming Bill announced by the Minister of State, Deputy White.

In looking at the fight with alcohol abuse, we can see the glass as half full or half empty. We have gone so far but there is more to do. I see the glass as half full in that we have made much progress and we have more work to do. Our overriding concern must be to reduce the supply of cheap alcohol, control availability, prevent binge-drinking and drink-driving and protect our young people from the sale and marketing of alcohol, particularly thorough sports. We must use a holistic approach to this issue rather than singling out one aspect of the drinks industry and its relationship to sport. That just misses the point. As the Minister said, there is much common ground.

I compliment Cumann Lúthchleas Gael on moving its sponsorship from one single drinks company to several companies not involved in the alcohol industry. As a former chairman of my local GAA club, I recognise that alcohol sponsorship and our clubhouse bar were inextricably linked to the club, as it is an important source of revenue. While I would prefer to have no bar in the club, how it is managed is important. One size does not fit all.

There needs to be further discussion about the link between alcohol and sport. Reluctantly, I accept the economic argument that if we ban sports sponsorship now there will be a gargantuan deficit in the budgets of many sports clubs and organisations. We cannot allow that to happen because, as Deputy Dooley rightly said, sport plays an important role in our society. The State gives a huge amount of money not just to the big three sporting organisations but to all sports, and rightly so because sport has that great unifying effect and provides role models for many young people who are desperately seeking one. Sportspeople fit that bill.

We must continue to highlight our society's relationship with alcohol. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan alluded to this in her remarks. Some television soap operas, such as "Fair City" and "Coronation Street", centre around the pub. Although I hardly dare to mention "Love/Hate" in the company of Deputy Eoghan Murphy, it, too, deals with the issue of drug and alcohol misuse, which has an implication for young people. Can we honestly continue the relationship between alcohol and sport in the broader interests of our society? As Members of this House and of the committees, be it the one Deputy O'Mahony chairs or the one I chair, we must come from the perspective of what is in the interest of public health. The promulgation, creation and implementation of policies places on us a duty and responsibility with regard to the public health of our nation and the individuals who comprise our society.

The misuse of alcohol is a challenge for all of us. Although this debate has probably been going on since time began, we have reached a point at which we see severe implications for our public health infrastructure in terms of the accident and emergency services and beds that are used every weekend and night. That is why this House must make a realistic and serious attempt to reduce alcohol consumption and educate young people about how they should use alcohol.

The Government's launch of the recent Public Health (Alcohol) Bill showed that the average per-capita consumption of pure alcohol for everyone over the age of 15 is 11.63 litres a year. That is the equivalent of a bottle of vodka per week per person. That is an extraordinary amount of alcohol being consumed when one allows for the fact that 19% of the population do not drink. At the same time we have seen a 161% increase in the number of off-licences and a 19% decrease in the number of pubs.

I am glad this nation will tackle the issue of cheap alcohol and availability because we have a major issue with binge drinking. We must strongly tackle the promotion of alcohol. I have never been afraid to express my viewpoint on this, although perhaps I am in a minority and unpopular in some quarters. The way Arthur's day has been turned around as a quasi-national alcohol day and the way we allow the Guinness Storehouse to be used in iconic visits to our country by President Obama or Queen Elizabeth II must stop. We have far better scenery along the coasts - in County Clare, where Deputy Dooley is from, with the Cliffs of Moher, in my own county of Cork or at the lakes of Killarney - where we can bring these dignitaries and show them a real view of the quality of the Irish landscape and people.

If we want those on the television, those in the press and people of other nations to continue thinking we are a nation of beer-swigging alcoholics we can keep that going, but we should aspire to more than that, because we are much more than that. I challenge any foreign journalist to come to our country and see the catastrophic effects of the consumption and misuse of alcohol in our accident and emergency and outpatients' departments. I take a pint; I binge drink, and I am ashamed of that. Collectively, as a nation, we must change our attitude to alcohol or we will continue to pay the price. There is a duty on us in this House to do that.

I very much welcome the Government's approach and acknowledge that no single measure in itself will tackle the problem. Sport is a key aspect of our nation. It unifies us, brings us joy and lifts us from the doldrums. However, sporting organisations have a duty to reflect on their relationship with alcohol and consider how we can collectively, as the Minister rightly said, build on the common ground to ensure we have a proper footing for sports sponsorship and a proper platform to eliminate the harmful effects of alcohol misuse in our society. We can do that. The time has come for us to do that. We have a duty and we cannot fail.

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