Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

A recent UK report which suggests the cost to the health system of alcohol consumption among older people far exceeds that for younger people offers a balance in this debate. My own generation and the one before us were more likely to drink and drive in a way that young people of today would not dream about.

We must have some perspective on this.

That said, I do not disagree with Senator Barrett with regard to the cost of alcohol. I remember when I started university, £1 would get a person two and a half pints or 50 cigarettes. At the time, I would get £2.50 for a night's baby-sitting. Therefore, it is not necessarily true to say that drink has become as cheap as chips. The fact is that nowadays our children have a lot more money than we had when we were growing up. We need to accept this calmly. The reality for our children is that they can buy and consume alcohol at pocket money prices. We must deal with this. Consider, for example, the cost of the average weekly risk free consumption limit for a woman or a man, ¤7 for a woman and ¤10 for a man. Price, therefore, is a problem, whether we consider the individual price of what is being purchased or whether wider issues in society do not simply relate to the price of alcohol.

As Labour Party spokesperson for children and youth affairs, it is important for me to reiterate the cost to society, and to young people in particular, due to the use of alcohol. Apart from the psychological impact, depression in particular - which is almost a national epidemic - there is neuro-scientific evidence of long-term damage to children and their health, in particular with regard to brain chemistry and to establishing addictive patterns at a young age. This is an issue we need to take seriously.

I would like to address a particular issue to which Senator Henry alluded, namely, the issue of product placement. From a very young age, children are sitting in shopping trolleys surrounded by milk, juice, water and wine. I understand what Senator Henry said, but in my local supermarket, which used confine alcohol to a side aisle, alcohol is now part of the mainstream area in the middle of the store. Therefore, I believe the only way we can get around this is to limit the availability of alcohol. I ask the Minister of State to consider that.