Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and thank him for his contribution.

On 16 April last I informed the House about an incident in a New York nightclub where a patron who was asked by a bouncer to extinguish his cigarette was stabbed and subsequently died after six or seven hours in hospital. I conditioned my comments on the Order of Business that day by saying that I supported and endorsed what the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, is attempting to do in introducing a ban on smoking.

I am a smoker and I recognise the dangers associated with the habit. The implementation of this ban will be cumbersome and troublesome and will lead to massive opposition in some quarters, but I believe such opposition is not merited. As legislators, we are trusted to make decisions which are difficult and may hurt some people. There are those will be hurt more than others and some will be hurt in their pockets. Nevertheless, I hope the ban will be introduced and given widescale support.

There is much evidence to show that the level of alcohol consumption is related to the harm being visited on young people. The problem is growing. The level of violence associated with alcohol consumption is there for all to see. Seldom does a weekend go by when we do not hear about an innocent person being set upon by a drunken thug. This has led to situations such as that which arose in Cork last year when an innocent person was beaten by a mindless, drunken lout. That is the result of the abuse of alcohol. The recent incident in Grafton Street is another illustration of how far this problem has gone.

Of course, it is a sad indictment of our society that young people who are drinking more than moderate levels have had very good teachers. Much needs to be done by older and more mature adults so that young people can follow good example.

There is evidence to suggest that the long-term health of young people is associated with their level of alcohol consumption. This worrying trend is, unfortunately, a facet of our society. Another recent trend is that while young males drink more than young females, the gender gap is narrowing and some experts tell us that girls are starting to drink at a younger age than boys and are drinking more than them. Senator Henry referred to the worrying phenomenon of drug rape. Regarding rohypnol as the sole cause of date rape may be a blinkered approach. Excessive use of alcohol may be the worst form of drug rape.