Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Jim Walsh for sharing time. I welcome the Minister of State's comments. This debate is welcome and I hope we return to this subject on another occasion. The Minister of State mentioned other issues related to the population in general, rather than just young people. We should talk about the abuse of alcohol generally throughout the country.

Many good organisations have tried to assist young people through leisure activities, such as the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, which organises many cultural, sporting and musical events. Dóthain, the Irish for enough, is an organisation in County Mayo which was pioneered by Dr. Michael Loftus. It promotes many leisure activities at which alcohol is not served. The best known organisation is the No Name Club, which was started in the south east but which has branches nationwide, including a strong presence in Galway. These organisations do good work. I despair when I hear young people saying they have nothing to do except drink because that is not true. Organisations such as the No Name Club organise a range of activities at which soft drinks are served. The only problem is that enough help is not given to these organisations. I was amazed to discover that the Department of Education and Science does not give much funding to the No Name Club, an issue I have raised previously.

The position regarding discos has been debated in this and the other House. There should be a better way of organising them so young people can go to a bar and order soft drinks rather than having the bar closed down and being given a soft drink on paying their admission at the door. This also brings into focus the regulation under which people under the age of 18 years have to leave a licensed premises at 9 p.m. I have been concerned about this because it is better to have families together instead of sending 17 and 18 years olds out onto the streets at 9 p.m. However, that is a debate for another day. In defence of the rural pub, it should be borne in mind that a huge amount of fund raising takes place in these pubs on behalf of schools, sports clubs and so forth. It might be a table quiz or a race night and it is unfair that people aged 16 or 17 must leave the premises at 9 p.m.

Like other Senators, I also object to the aggressive marketing of alcohol and to drinks promotions, whether it is by supermarkets or the drinks companies. I saw it occur again with the smoking ban. As soon as the smoking ban was announced, there was the same type of marketing by the drinks companies for new drink promotions in the pubs. I do not agree with that. I am appalled at the concoctions which are now being sold in pubs, particularly in the cities. One drink, which is known as a "fat frog", costs €15. Senator Walsh mentioned the practice of buying a round but if €15 is the price of one drink, one can easily imagine that young people will not have that type of money. Such high prices for drink can lead to other problems.

Reference has been made to poor school performance, delinquency problems, unprotected sex and the risk of sexually transmitted infections. These are directly related to the issue of alcohol consumption. An education programme in this regard should be considered. The other unfortunate problem is the violence that occurs, and it has been well reported, outside nightclubs and takeaways. These are matters which the Minister should consider, particularly the fact that nightclubs can remain open so late compared with the ordinary public house and that takeaways can open late under the planning laws. This is where much of the violence occurs and it is associated with drinking, especially binge drinking.