Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

The Leader has done the House a service by raising once again the issue of alcohol abuse. He did so in a balanced, logical and yet courageous manner. I recall a debate in this House following a "Prime Time" programme which exposed the consequences of alcohol abuse. The programme showed extreme, anti-social behaviour on the streets in the early hours of the morning. It showed violence and the threat of violence against people in the accident and emergency services and it showed broken homes. There were many newspaper editorials at the time on the subject. I stated at the time that this outrage would be no more than a seven-day wonder and this is what has happened on each occasion that alcohol abuse has been discussed, in so far as I can remember.

A recent survey showed that 70% of 13 year olds surveyed in a particular area have imbibed alcohol. This is a frightening statistic. Are we prepared to take a stand? Are we prepared to take on the drinks industry and to ban advertising? If advertising for smoking has been banned, why should there not be a ban on advertising for a drug which is alcohol?