John Gilroy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this issue because, until recently, I worked in services that dealt with alcohol addiction. I have seen at first hand what alcohol misuse can do. By the same token, many people enjoy a drink and when Members debate alcohol policy, they should not move to a position by which they take polar opposites of the extreme or are perceived as being fundamentalists in favour of one argument or another. Instead, they should add some balance to the issue. The problem with alcohol arises when it begins to have a negative effect on work, family relationships, health or the ability to live a happy life. That is when alcohol becomes problematic for people. I also note the economic cost of alcohol to the State with regard to lost hours in employment, the impact on the health and criminal justice services and the number of road deaths. There is hardly any area in which alcohol misuse is not felt. Most people will agree that as a society, Ireland has a rather unhealthy relationship with alcohol and it is more than simply an individual problem. Moreover, the reasons for this are profound and probably are not amenable to a single or simple solution. It is clear that if the reasons explaining this society's relationship with alcohol are complex, any policy response put forward must be equally complex and must be multi-stranded. Any proposed single solution is doomed to failure from the outset because it will fail to recognise the complexity of the issue.

As for some of the more startling effects, one can point to road deaths and that alcohol misuse is indicated in up to 40% of deaths by suicide. When discussing alcohol misuse, it also is important not to try to identify a particular cohort of the population as being the problem. There is a tendency to see young people as the problem in respect of anti-social behaviour and associated matters. However, having worked in this area for 25 years, my perception is that in our society, it is the more mature people, in terms of age, who present with the most problematic behaviour. It is insidious and under the radar and is not often seen but it must be identified.