Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I thank Senator Clune for raising the issue, which is quite timely. Apart from the report from the HRB, to which the Senator referred and which indicated we have alarming rates of alcohol consumption in this country, another report was launched this morning by the North West Alcohol Forum. This report outlined the severe impact that alcohol consumption by parents has on children due to the lack of care and neglect that this leads to in many families. These effects on young children can last for life. The report also drew attention to the fact that a significant number of children are taken into care due to the drinking habits of their parents. It is a timely debate and I welcome the increasing public support, not only as outlined by the various groups mentioned by the Senator, but in the general realisation that we have got to a point in this country where we have done enough damage to ourselves through the abuse of alcohol.

Alcohol abuse has cost us very dearly, both in human and financial terms. It has cost us about €3.7 billion due to the huge burden on the health service, lost productivity, days away from work and the costs involved in child care for those children abused due to the abuse of alcohol. We have no choice at this stage other than to address the problem in a comprehensive way.

A steering group was set up to address the issue of alcohol abuse in 2009. It is chaired by the chief medical officer of the Department of Health and representatives of different Departments, agencies and interests in this area. That steering group recently completed its work. The final touches are being put on the report and I hope to receive it in the next couple of weeks. I will be bringing that report to the Cabinet in respect of proposals we will make to address all the aspects of the alcohol abuse problem in this country.

There is no doubt it is a cultural problem and we all need to examine our attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol. It is sometimes convenient to talk about alcohol being a problem that affects young people in disadvantaged areas or in particular marginalised groups, but the reality is that as a society, we all have a problem with alcohol. We drink too much. We drink more alcohol in this country per head of population than any other country in Europe. We drink to get drunk more often than anybody else, and young people do exactly the same. They largely do what they see their parents doing. For that reason, there is a real onus on legislators to address this problem.

In recent years, the problem has got out of control, partly due to the boom and partly due to the relaxation of the licensing laws and the lifting of the groceries order. The World Health Organization indicates that availability and price are two key factors in respect of controlling the use of alcohol. For this reason, some of the recommendations coming from the steering group will be on availability, licensing and pricing. This is not straightforward. Personally, I am committed to introducing minimum pricing. However, there are legal obstacles to that and I am awaiting legal advice. There is some case law on minimum pricing for tobacco products, and I hope to get the legal advice shortly. Our colleagues in Scotland published a Bill this week to introduce minimum pricing and in many ways they are far ahead of us. It is also being considered in Northern Ireland. If it is possible, I would like to see it.

It is important to point out that minimum pricing is not going to penalise people who are moderate drinkers. I have got some negative feedback with people saying that their only treat is a bottle of wine at the weekend. Minimum pricing will not penalise moderate drinkers. It will have a marginal impact on them. It will have a significant impact on people who have a problem with alcohol and young people. The drinking habits of young people are very price sensitive and alcohol is being sold at below cost in supermarkets. Sometimes supermarkets take a hit on the excise duty and VAT. One supermarket recently advertised two bottles of wine for €5, yet the VAT and excise duty comes to more than that. There is a price war taking place between the supermarkets at the moment and that has to be addressed.

While people are concerned that they might lose the opportunity to get a bargain on alcohol, it is important to point out that this is a false economy. While supermarkets are using alcohol as a loss leader, it means they have to recoup that money through groceries and so on. People are paying for it in other ways. Overall, we are all paying a big price as alcohol costs us €3.7 billion.

I hope that we have concrete proposals in the next few weeks, as soon as we have had an opportunity to consider the recommendations from the steering group. I know there is strong support within Cabinet to act on this and that there is cross-party support as well. It is now time to deal with this national problem.