Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State. I suggest to Senator Ormonde that the way to create awareness of the guidelines from the report on the strategic task force on alcohol is to implement them as Government policy. Perhaps she might get the opportunity to raise this matter at her next parliamentary party meeting. Two years ago an interim report made many of the same kinds of suggestions. These reports are excellent and comprehensive. If they were implemented as Government policy it would go along way towards addressing the problems of alcohol misuse.

The North West Alcohol Forum chaired by Denis Bradley has been working very proactively on the ground in conjunction with the North Western Health Board. Last October representatives of this group met the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to discuss the possibility of using the work of the body as a pilot community mobilisation study based on its recommendations and guidelines in addressing alcohol problems. Many of the recommendations and guidelines of the North West Alcohol Forum came from the interim report of the strategic task force on alcohol. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Power, to liase with the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to further the forum's request to implement a community pilot project in the north west. As the Minister of State is aware all politics is local. Starting to address such a major national problem at a local level might represent a way forward.

Donegal Youth Council, established two years ago, is the first democratically elected all-county youth council for 16 to 20 year olds in the county. Elections take place through the schools with students electing their peers as opposed to representatives being appointed like the Taoiseach's nominations. They are not appointed by principals or boards of management. This year's elections have just been completed and 10,000 young people elected 42 or 46 youth councillors. That youth council is very effective given that young people who know what is happening on the ground represent their peers.

While, as a 33 year old, I consider myself relatively young, I am completely out of touch with what is happening among 18 to 24 year olds. As Senator Ormonde has said, a completely new drinking culture and behaviour exists which is not akin to the lifestyle I led. It involves power drinking on one trip during the week perhaps on a Friday night, or on Friday and Saturday. The phrase used in Donegal is "flat to the mat drinking for the weekend" and can take place day and night involving very heavy drinking of alcopops and other drinks. Approximately a year ago a friend of mine told me he was going to go drinking on a Saturday saying "I'm going to go at it like a day's work". This type of compulsive drinking behaviour is the norm among that age group.

The Government should seriously consider the Donegal Youth Council model. Two members of that council are represented on the North West Alcohol Forum. Honest and forward-looking recommendations are continually made through that conduit. The North West Alcohol Forum is holding a summit in the near future on which there should be a national focus.

Alcohol is not an underlying cause of domestic violence but, having spoken with Women's Aid this morning, it was brought home how it can exacerbate domestic violence. Statistically, from 29 December onwards, there is a high incidence of domestic violence.

I came into this debate to achieve one objective — for the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to consider using the North West Alcohol Forum as a five-year pilot scheme. The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Gallagher, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, and Deputy Keaveney are all aware of it — we met with the forum in October. It could act as a pilot project and I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, will follow through on a commitment he gave on this project in which he has shown an interest.

The North West Alcohol Forum has been working proactively. Following the first meeting, chairman Denis Bradley said that in addressing any type of drink-related problem we must start with the simple premise that Irish people like to drink. It has been that way for centuries, it is the way now and it will be the way in future. Irish people like to enjoy a few drinks, barring our representative from the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association, Senator Moylan. It is a simple premise. We do not want a "say no to alcohol" flagship, we want people to enjoy their drink without going overboard and doing harm to themselves and the wider society. Senator O'Toole, however, is being realistic when he says that pubs cannot stay open all night long. We must accept that we do not know when to stop. We enjoy our few tipples but sometimes we have a problem knowing when to call it a night.

It is in the Minister of State's hands to relay what has been said in this debate to the Minister. I hope she will recognise the North West Alcohol Forum as a five-year pilot programme from which we can learn.