Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I welcome this debate which concentrates on the second alcohol task force report. It is important that the House regularly inform itself about Government policy and the progress being made in this area. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and thank him for attending this important debate. It is easier to have a rational, thought-out debate on matters of this nature in this House than in the other House given the political argy-bargy which takes place in the latter on regular occasions. The Seanad is a particularly useful and adept forum for dealing with the issue.

Senator Feeney raised the issue of providing a multi-faceted response to the problem. She is correct that it concerns more than one Department. Given the range of Departments involved, a number of Ministers should sit in on future debates, where possible, because one Department cannot take a lead role in this area.

It is staggering that Ireland has recorded the highest increase in alcohol consumption among European Union countries and that, as the Minister of State noted, per capita alcohol consumption increased by 41% over the period between 1990 and 2002. We have the second highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the EU. Why are more and more people drinking greater volumes of alcohol? It does not matter how many strategic task forces are in place or how many Departments respond in their functionalist way to the problem, society must address the reasons people are drinking more.

People are using alcohol to fill gaps in their lives which did not exist in the past. The increase in alcohol consumption is not only fuelled by much greater purchasing power but by real needs, which may be psychiatric, the result of a missing link or the loss of certain characteristics of society. We must address the reasons an increasing number of younger people are drinking large amounts of alcohol. As the Minister of State said, a large proportion of total alcohol consumption occurs as a result of binge drinking.

The effects of alcohol consumption are well known. As a constituency representative, one of the issues I encounter, which has not been raised but needs to be addressed, is domestic violence. We do not speak loudly enough about domestic violence which is fuelled by drink and is causing untold havoc in many families from various income brackets. On the Order of Business, Senator Terry referred to the considerable increase in the number of women calling the Women's Aid helpline. The reason is the rising incidence of domestic violence, an issue we must place at the top of our priorities.

Another issue we need to address, one on which many people have a view, is the crisis in the accident and emergency departments of our acute hospitals in Dublin and other cities. The pilot study carried out by the Mater Hospital in 2002, to which the Minister of State also referred, showed that alcohol was a contributory factor in one in four patients attending accident and emergency departments. This matter must be addressed.

As the Minister of State noted, the research in question indicated that 30% of male admissions, 10% of female admissions and almost 25% of accident and emergency attendees met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol misuse or dependency. I hold the old-fashioned and perhaps unattractive view that those who attend accident and emergency wards in acute hospitals because they are drunk should not be given priority when it is necessary to attend to other patients. It is a scandal that frequently those attended to first are raucous patients who continually put pressure on staff and other patients. One need only attend any accident and emergency department in this city at any time on a Friday or Saturday night to see that large numbers of people are in attendance because of a form of self-abuse, namely, getting out of their heads with drink. It is not right or proper that other people attending hospital because they are sick should have to wait in a queue while such people are dealt with first.

Some form of financial penalty should be imposed on those who regularly attend accident and emergency departments while drunk. It is a disgrace that they put so much pressure on our medical services and security personnel. A large number of people are lying on trolleys in our accident and emergency departments, many of them acutely sick, who must put up with mayhem on the wards on a nightly basis. This is unsustainable and wrong and society must take a firm position on the issue.

We cannot continue to tell people that such problems can be sorted out by task force reports. They must be sorted out by ensuring people take responsibility for their actions. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, in consultation with his colleagues in the Department of Health and Children, to ensure that patients attending accident and emergency wards because they are sick rather than drunk are prioritised. We have a responsibility to develop measures for those in real need of support.

I agree with other Senators that it will be necessary to implement the recommendation in the first and second task force reports to raise awareness of the problems associated with drunkenness and drunken behaviour by introducing a targeted marketing campaign. This public health issue needs to be addressed at all levels of society. I support the Government's amendments to the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill to enable much harsher penalties to be imposed on those driving at night while drunk. We must be strong in this area. I strongly support the recommendation that we deal with the issue of alcohol marketing and take a strong stance with sports organisations that seek funding exclusively in this area. The progress made in recent years is worthwhile.

This is a much wider problem than simply implementing a number of recommendations. People must take responsibility for their actions. It does not matter how many fine reports are produced because unless we can inculcate personal responsibility into people's behaviour, we will not secure a change of attitude to alcohol. I compliment the Government on its work so far in this area but more needs to be done. This House has a pivotal role in terms of surveying that work on a constant basis.