Alex White (Labour)

The normally mild mannered Senator Ó Murchú has given the impression that he believes the tribunals are the problem rather than the people who caused their establishment.

I have just come from an excellent conference organised by Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society, MEAS. Yesterday colleagues asked the Leader to facilitate a debate on alcohol and alcohol abuse, and I repeat that request today. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher, presented some alarming figures on the increase in alcohol consumption in the past ten years. A number of calls have been made for consultation and partnership approaches, with which I agree, but real action is needed on some of these issues.

In terms of the easy availability of alcohol, one cannot enter a garage or shop to purchase a newspaper at 7.30 a.m. without tripping over crates of wine and cans of beer. It was a serious mistake to allow such wide availability of alcohol in so many different outlets and it is manifestly creating real issues in terms of easy availability of alcohol in relatively uncontrolled environments. I commend the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, which of course has a vested interest, on a measured article it published in this morning's The Irish Times which laments the problems it faces from the demise of the rural, and sometimes suburban, pub. The pub's place as a centre of social activity in rural Ireland has been greatly undermined by recent changes. Nobody wants to close pubs but we need to restrict in some intelligent way the availability of alcohol. The issue has gotten out of hand in that regard and this House should return to it.

Some Senators disagree but we have to address the issue of commercial sponsorship by alcohol companies. The association of alcohol with sporting prowess through the GAA, rugby organisations and elsewhere is wrong and ought to be addressed.