Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This has been an excellent debate. It was very interesting to listen to the various views expressed and insights given by every speaker. The great value of a debate such as this lies in the numbers who come to listen and respond to others, which is always important in a debate.

The issue is not as clear-cut as we would like it to be, as serving politicians, as we observe the problem. I speak not only as a public representative but also as a parent who can see on a weekly, if not daily, basis what is happening in the country and the suburbs I know best. There has definitely been a change in the pattern of drinking, in how and where people drink and how often they do so. I agree with those who say we should rely to a large extent on evidence in what we do as politicians, but particularly as a Government. We should look to see what the evidence is for the policy proposals we intend to bring forward because there is always a risk in a debate such as this that we can be drawn along not only by anecdotal evidence but also by the evidence of what we see and feel. We observe terrible things happening as a consequence of the use and misuse of alcohol, but we should only bring forward a proposal if we think it will have an impact. Sometimes that may be difficult for us to accept.

I have been considering this issue for a few weeks. Senator John Crown in a very striking intervention in the debate gave a list of the consequences if no alcohol was consumed in the country. He was being realistic, as he always is, and not carrying his point through to advocate a ban on alcohol. None of us believes that would be possible to achieve and many of us think it might not necessarily be desirable to have a ban on alcohol. There are many examples where it was banned, not only here but also elsewhere and there can be unintended consequences of such a policy approach. I do not make this point as an excuse for not doing as much we should. We should do the maximum we can achieve in this round of policy making, but we should also be realistic. We should be able to defend the policy proposals we bring forward and point to their likely impact. Neither do I believe we should see the set of proposals we will introduce and implement as being the end of the road but as an important part of what we want to achieve. It is not necessarily the first step. In fairness, this is not the first Government to address the issue. It is true that there were inadequacies in some of the policy responses in the past, something that was shown as much by experience as much as anything else. That may have been the case because of certain influences and vested interests in bringing to bear their viewpoints. On occasion, in some cases, their power was inordinate. We must contend with this fact. However, let us not see this set of proposals as the end of the road but as the next step, one which I hope will prove very robust in addressing the misuse and abuse of alcohol.

I thank all of the Senators for their comments which were full of insight and experience. We had a very good debate.

One or two things have occurred to me following comments made by various colleagues. Senator Gilroy, and his sentiments have been echoed by others, talked about us looking to ourselves. He suggested that we should not take this as an opportunity to engage in finger wagging at young people and Senator Hayden made the same point. His comments are true. Every one of us must look at our own behaviour and conduct. Some people do not drink which is admirable but people make that choice for their own reasons. Most of us consume alcohol. Many of us are parents and we are concerned about what the next generation is doing. As Senator Gilroy has said, let us examine the pattern of our own behaviour and ask those questions to give us perspective but do not use it as an excuse for inaction.

Various Senators referred to the report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children. I have seen it but I have not had an opportunity to read it in great depth. I will consider it as part of deliberations that will take place in the coming weeks.

Other colleagues asked about proposals but I cannot indicate exactly when they will be brought forward. I see it in terms of weeks, not months. I hope that it will be a short period of weeks.

I know that we are tight for time so I cannot respond to each contribution individually. I shall make an attempt to do so on the next occasion that I close the debate.

Senator Barrett made a point about patterns and changes in alcohol consumption. Senator Crown, in his response, was right about the trajectory of the consumption pattern in the past few years. He correctly pointed out that there was a huge increase in consumption. Senator Colm Burke stated some figures which were right. Recently there has been a small decrease for the precise reasons outlined by Senator Crown but that is not the end of the story. So what? The number has decreased a little but the issue still needs to be addressed. Even if it is not a question about the quantity of alcohol being consumed there is definitely an issue when it comes to the pattern, location, type and in what circumstances people drink.

A Senator made the point that it is hard to predict the impact and effects of concentrated alcohol products and there is a lot of education needed. Senator O'Keeffe touched on the need for responsibility when it comes to the marketing and packaging of such products. She wondered if people knew what they are buying and drinking.

Senator Barrett, as the good and insightful economist he is, asked for us to be careful not to make policy decisions that will favour a particular economic unit and interest in society. It is inevitable that some areas of society or interests will be favoured by a policy change but one does not make a policy change to favour them.

Let us take the point made by Senator Henry and others that wherever drink is found it is still harmful. A compelling argument was made for people to drink in a controlled environment. Without sounding overly nannyish, a case can be made for a controlled environment that allows people to gather together at a particular time. I hope that they look after one another afterwards and have an interest in how and where they are going and how they get home. There is a case to be made for policy instruments that favour that approach to drinking rather than the chaos that is often associated with drinking, particularly by young people.