A large number of people working in accident and emergency departments are injured as a result of alcohol. Senator O'Toole correctly pointed out that the drunkenness can endanger more people than those in the drunk's vicinity. This point should be taken on board because if the drunk gets so bad that he or she is carted off to hospital, he or she can end up beating up the casualty staff. A survey carried out by the accident and emergency departments in the Royal Victoria Hospitals in the United Kingdom and Ireland received 273 replies to a questionnaire, an 80% response rate. Alcohol, waiting times, recreational drug use and patients' expectations were perceived as the chief causes of assaults in casualty departments. Staff are regularly abused both verbally and physically and the survey found that alcohol was the most serious cause. Ten staff members sustained fractures in one year. There were 44 lacerations and 505 soft tissue injuries. This is utterly ridiculous. I would support any measures that would improve matters in this regard.