Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, to the House. I am glad to speak on an issue which I asked the Leader to put down for discussion. I have had meetings with a number of groups involved in this area, many of which I am sure the Minister of State has also met. One such meeting consisted of a long and detailed briefing from Ms Sinéad Shannon, policy officer for Alcohol Action Ireland, who informed me of the policies and objectives of that group. The first step in tackling this issue is to recognise that the work done by organisations such as Alcohol Action Ireland is deeply unpopular and unattractive to politicians. We talk the talk but are often not of a mind to make the changes that will impact on the issue.

The problem is that changing our approach to alcohol is a quality of life and public health issue. I am beginning to change my attitude entirely on this issue. I have expressed the view many times in this House that there should be no licensing hours. I contended that if there are no limits on alcohol consumption, people will eventually grow up and take a mature view of the world. I accept I was wrong in this regard. The introduction of more flexible and liberal licensing hours has led to a significant increase in alcohol consumption. Simultaneous to the changes in the licensing laws was a major increase in the country's wealth and this may have also had an effect on drinking behaviour. However, my initial contention, which I articulated many times in this Houses, that removing the madness of early closing times and so on would lead to a more mature and gradualist approach to alcohol has not been borne out by subsequent developments.

I have been examining material produced by Alcohol Action Ireland which reveals some significant findings. This is thoroughly researched material that will stand the test of scrutiny. It highlights the need for a proper implementation of the laws on drunkenness, an issue we can all recognise. I heard recently of the case of a young man from a reasonably well-off family who appeared in court after engaging in despicable and disgraceful behaviour while in a drunken state. Over the years, we have tended to ignore such behaviour. Gardaí often merely advised perpetrators to sober up and go home. It is years since we have heard of people being arrested for drunkenness. Such arrests happened long ago, perhaps on fair days. More recently, we have taken the view that gardaí have more important work to do and that such arrests would be a waste of their time.

However, we are now encountering situations where people, including some from well-off families, find themselves in court answering charges of drunkenness and drunken behaviour. To have such behaviour described in the cold light of day in a courtroom with members of the media present is a necessary shock to the system that brings people to attention. There has been a change of attitude in regard to drunkenness. There was a time when it was macho for young people to prove they could hold their drink by not acting in a drunken fashion. The objective was to be able to take as many drinks as a seasoned, older drinker without appearing drunk. Without generalising too much, this has changed to a significant extent. In many cases, the objective for young drinkers is to get drunk as quickly as possible.

The volume of drink that is consumed is amazing. Most of us have been students and I was no different from anybody else in my behaviour at that time of my life. We drank as much as we could afford, which was never enough to get one into the state induced by the current practice of downing 14 vodka shots before commencing the serious drinking. Our objectives must change to reflect these new realities. In terms of cultural attitudes, society must confront this issue and decide that drunkenness is unacceptable. It must be the norm that not only drink driving but drunkenness itself is societally unacceptable. This is not something the community wants to see and is not something about which one should boast. This is what we need to do and it will only happen through the application of the laws on drunkenness.

Another issue that has had a marked effect on alcohol consumption is the availability of alcohol. Reduced availability, a reduction in opening hours, a restriction in locations from which alcohol can be purchased and the implementation of the age limit are all issues covered by law, which must be implemented. This will have an effect in reducing intake and I would welcome such a development. Above all, there must be a move to encourage people to discuss the problem as a public health and quality of life issue. As a society, we must determine that drunkennessis an unacceptable behaviour in "politesociety".

I disagree with Senator Scanlon when he says price increases do not make a difference. They do. Alcohol Action Ireland has shown me figures which are available to all of us. In the 2001 budget, excise duty on cider was increased. As a consequence, excise receipts went up and sales went down. In the 2002 budget, excise duty on spirits was increased. Similarly, sales of spirits went down. There is a direct connection between the cost and consumption of alcohol. We are becoming more price sensitive and people are more aware of the importance of keeping prices under control. There is no better way to discourage the consumption of alcohol than to increase its price. It is the easiest way and it does work. I ask the Minister of State to keep that in mind.

I do not understand why the Minister for Finance, in yesterday's budget statement, made a concession to micro breweries. I do not understand the need for this measure and I was not aware of a demand for it. Who gains by it? Perhaps the Minister of State can enlighten the House. I do not present this as a major issue but it sends out a questionable message.

I have dealt with the issue of supply. The supply of drink can be affected by restricting access to drink, by limiting the hours or locations of drinking, by imposing age restrictions or by increasing price. What I must say now saddens me because it undermines the case I have been making for ten years. I have always thought that education could lead to reduced demand. I firmly believe that the only way to deal with abuse of drugs, drink or such substances is not to reduce the supply, because people will always get them eventually if they wish, but to reduce demand for them. I would have thought that education on the dangers of alcohol and on its proper use would be helpful but I cannot find a single piece of research to support my view. Can the Minister of State's Department look at ways of reducing the demand for drink? How can one stop people wanting a drink? We do not want to do that. We merely want to stop people wanting too much drink. If education is not working at the school level perhaps we need to attempt it at a societal or adult level.

I urge the Minister of State to consider the advice of groups such as Alcohol Action Ireland and to try out its proposals. The research and experience of Alcohol Action Ireland throughout the world may work here. Some of the solutions are politically unattractive. There are no votes in putting up the price of the pint. However, with public acceptability and awareness of the dangers of over-drinking we could take the appropriate decisions. If that means taking unpopular decisions then that is what we must do. Meanwhile, I ask the Minister of State to give his best support, including budgetary supports, to groups working in this area. Some of these groups are working on a shoestring and they need financial support.