Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join in expressing the sadness all Members feel about the resignation of her post as Minister of State by Deputy Shortall. In addition, I hope her good work on alcohol abuse is continued by whoever takes over that role. On the subject of alcohol abuse, while I do not know whether one is allowed to mention brand names in this House, I wish Heineken and Guinness were the issue with today's young people. I wish the problem was their over-consumption of pints and not, as my colleague has noted, their consumption of spirits. If I may tell a personal story, one of my daughters had a party recently and she asked me to ensure there were plenty of soft drinks. When I told her that was wonderful and I had not known so many of her friends did not drink - she is in her 20s - she replied the soft drinks were not to drink but to add to the spirits. The bottom line is that Guinness or Heineken are not the problem on the streets of Ireland today. Dare I say the problem is not Heineken, wine or Guinness but Jägerbombs and captain and Coke and because girls today aged 14 and younger are drinking vodka and gin. Consequently, I have a reservation about the way this debate goes.

However, I do not wish to discuss that issue but to ask the Leader to facilitate a more general debate in this House on taxation. One reason Members have been reluctant to tackle the issue of alcohol abuse revolves around excise duties. They have questions to ask themselves. I seek a more reflective debate in this House on taxation. The issue of property taxes has arisen during the week and certain members of the Opposition are of the view there is a massive fortune to be gained from imposing a wealth tax. While the Government is committed to a certain programme in respect of taxation, this House has shown itself capable of great reflection and deep consideration of issues faced by this country. One such issue is the level of taxation that should be levied. An excellent debate took place in the House last night on the sore and core topic of young children in end-of-life cases and the funding of their care. I noted with great sadness that a vast proportion of the funding for the care of such children comes from the charity of Irish people, not from general taxation. This society has issues on which to reflect and I ask that this House so do.