Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Alcohol has been available either as a product or a commodity for as long as people have been on the planet. These statements are on alcohol consumption as opposed to alcohol abuse. I would, therefore, like to consider some of the positive aspects of alcohol before I focus on the downsides. I am partial to a drink. When consumed properly by adults, alcohol can be of benefit both socially and from the point of view of health. It lends gaiety to festive occasions and can be a source of comfort at funerals and other times of grief and trauma. A drop of sherry brings a good colour to one's complexion. All of these aspects must be mentioned before we refer to the downsides.

The alcohol industry is extremely important to the economy of this country and many others. For example, the annual turnover of the industry in Ireland is ¤3 billion. It is responsible for generating ¤2 billion in VAT and excise revenues and employs over 50,000 people. A great number of the owners of pubs have raised their families on their premises. Pubs are a huge part of the fabric of Irish life, particularly in isolated rural areas where they provide the only social outlet for many. I refer, for example, to elderly and single men who live alone. I take the opportunity to compliment publicans. I accept that there are bad apples in every barrel and that individuals occasionally let the side down. In the main, however, publicans are exemplary. They run their businesses professionally and have a great sense of their duty of care for their customers. I would trust most publicans to ensure their customers do not over-imbibe. If people do have one too many, they are immediately taken care of by those publicans to whom I refer.

The difficulty we face is that most individuals no longer drink in pubs. People purchase alcohol in off-licences and consume it in their apartments, homes and less salubrious places. As Senator Michael Mullins indicated, there is some level of control when people drink in a pub.

However, there is no control over what happens in a private house and there is no one to say, "Stop, you have had enough" or to say one should not mix drinks. The focus should be on the off-licence trade. What can the Garda Síochána do about young people walking around in broad daylight with litre bottles of Coke which are laced with vodka or Bacardi or whatever else? It is impossible for a garda to apprehend someone in those situations until such time as they have drunk themselves silly and they begin misbehaving. This is when the garda can act but the damage has been done by then. It is rare that a Member of the House on his or her way home, to an apartment in my case or a hotel in other cases, will not encounter some of the most sickening sights of young men and women too behaving in the most debauched fashion, such as urinating in public, abusing people, falling all over the place, or roaring and shouting until the small hours of the morning. They are not coming out of pubs in that condition; they are coming out of their homes or their garages or wherever they group together. That is where it is happening for them.

I am confident the Minister of State has the question of below-cost selling in off-licences on his priority list. The Government has shied away from tackling the question of advertising and sponsorship of alcohol products. The Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Shortall, had very strong views on control of alcohol sponsorship. Clearly she was at variance with some of the senior members of the Cabinet on that issue, as she was on other issues. Some senior Ministers went on the record of the House as saying they were in favour of sponsorship of football and sports and cultural events by drinks companies. I do not propose a blanket ban on such sponsorship but rather I call for a coherent Government policy as to how much of this sponsorship is permitted and what is not permitted.

Drink-driving is a taboo subject and something for which we have no sympathy. We are winning in this regard. The Garda Síochána received additional powers which it is using. Most people have finally got the message that one does not go behind the wheel of a car with drink taken. I compliment the young people of Ireland because it is anathema to a young person that anyone would drink and drive.

The drink culture is big in Ireland and we all bought into it. The caricature of the drunken Irishman is not without foundation, which is sad to say. We have contempt for the drug abuser and for the drug pusher who is reviled in Irish society but we all have a great soft spot for the fellow who cannot control his drinking, falls all over the place in the pub, spills drink and is a nuisance at a race meeting when he wants to tell you his life story. Maybe we need to get a bit more judgmental - if that is the word I am looking for - and a little less tolerant.

I will finish with a story. I was in Norway not too long ago. I went to an Irish pub but I could not get a Jameson, Paddy or Powers whiskey. One cannot get whiskey in a Norwegian pub unless one is a resident in a hotel. I went to an off-licence to buy a bottle of gin and was directed to a warehouse out of town. There is just one such warehouse in the town which is the size of my own town of Listowel. The place is in the basement of a work space. I was directed into an empty room with a couple of shutters; it was like visiting a prison. Brochures were available on a table from which I had to choose, for instance, No. 45, Cork Dry Gin. The hatch opened, I put in my money and was given the bottle. There is no advertising, no lighting, no cheery feeling about it. It is like going to a funeral. I think that somewhere in between is what we should consider.