Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will begin by extending a warm welcome to the Minister of State, a former colleague of ours in this House and a very valued Member of the 23rd Seanad. I wish him well in his portfolio.

Those inside and outside of this House are acutely aware of the challenges which face the health service. In that context I wish the Minister of State, Deputy White, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, the very best in their endeavours to reform the broken and dysfunctional health service which the Government inherited.

One of the challenges that plagues the health service and society is the problem of alcohol consumption. Let us be honest, we have a serious problem with alcohol.

A recent report entitled, Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Related Harm in Ireland, contains discomforting figures and shows the extent of our alcohol problem that has endured for decades. As many as 1.5 million people consume alcohol in a harmful manner and 30% engage in such harmful behaviour at least once a week, and more than 50% of current drinkers engage in binge drinking, which is six or more standard drinks, at least once a month. The figure increases to 72% for those aged between 18 and 24 years. Some 73% of those aged between 18 and 24 years drank at least five standard drinks and 31% consumed at least nine standard drinks in one drinking session.

The recession has accelerated an already significant problem. The amount of alcohol being consumed by adults has increased yearly since 2009. Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the average per capitaconsumption of pure alcohol has increased from 11.9 litres in 2010 to 12 litres last year. At the same time the availability of alcohol is widespread. We continue to see a greater affordability of alcohol at a time when our abuse of alcohol continues to rise.

The effects of alcohol abuse go far beyond the individuals concerned. Often it is families, friends and innocent members of the public in the wider community who are affected, either directly or indirectly, by the alcohol pandemic. Excess alcohol consumption is a national and societal issue and affects every village, town and community across the country. It requires a collective solution. Earlier this year the Minister for Health and his counterpart in Northern Ireland, Mr. Edwin Poots, jointly opened the first North-South conference on the issue and that is welcome.

The problem is not confined to the household, because 2,000 beds are occupied by patients suffering alcohol-related illnesses that cost the Exchequer ¤1.2 billion per annum. This is at a time when we face severe budgetary and financial challenges in the health service. Alcohol is related to one quarter of all admissions to emergency departments in hospitals and in 2010 it was responsible for some 8,000 admissions to specialised addiction treatment centres. Alcohol is a contributory factor in 50% of suicides and in deliberate self-harm. Alcohol also increases the risk of more than 60 medical conditions such as cancers as explained to Members at a recent public consultation hearing conducted in the House. In Ireland three people die every day as a result of alcohol. It is associated with 16% of child abuse cases. Alcohol-related crime cost an estimated ¤1.19 billion in 2007 and in 2010 some 70,000 crimes were attributed to alcohol-related activity.

Finding a combination of different measures to effectively tackle the problem is something that all Senators should work towards. A number of measures have been proposed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children to stem our over-exposure to and consumption of alcohol. The widespread availability of cheap alcohol is an issue that the Government is committed to tackling. Having access to alcohol that in many cases is cheaper than a bottle of water cannot be tolerated in a society that is deeply affected already by its negative consequences. All one has to do is enter an off-licence, or better still a supermarket, to see the extent to which alcohol has become available and affordable. The introduction of a minimum price is an issue that the Government will consider in the run-up to the budget in December. I shall be interested to hear the Minister of State's view on minimum pricing. We should not encourage the bulk purchase of alcohol by pricing it at a rate which anyone with mere pocket money can afford. We must strike a balance and cater for people that do not abuse alcohol. It is in that context that sport sponsorship also arises.

The drinks industry is worth ¤2 billion annually to the Exchequer and employs some 70,000 people.

However, alcohol should not be interlinked with every aspect of society. The link between sports and alcohol should be curtailed over a reasonable period. The national substance misuse steering group's report, published in February, found that 16 to 21 year olds had listed alcohol advertisements as five of their top ten favourite advertisements. The report?s recommendations included a ban on all sponsorship of sports and large outdoor events by alcohol companies, as well as a ban on outdoor advertising of alcohol, higher excise duties on some alcohol products and the introduction of minimum pricing. The Government is committed to addressing the use of such sponsorship at sports events and the finer details, including the timeframe for such action, are to be decided by the Cabinet. Some have called for the full removal of such sponsorship, but I would bear in mind the fact that we must strike a balance for those who do not abuse alcohol. Accordingly, I would not favour a total ban of alcohol advertising.

An option which should be considered is early intervention in highlighting in schools the problems associated with alcohol misuse. Each year the Garda Síochána runs a successful programme in second level schools on road safety when students are shown the full extent of the dangers of drink-driving, speeding and driving without a safety belt. It may be worthwhile if a similar project aimed primarily at the responsible use of alcohol was introduced. As adults, we are beginning to come around to the line of thought that we do have a problem that needs action. I am not sure if there is the same awareness among young people. Will the Minister of State consider the need for early intervention in the education system?

As Leader, I will be more than happy to allocate more time and provide more opportunities to debate this issue. If, as a country, we can successfully reduce our reliance on alcohol, we can build a stronger, healthier and safer society for the betterment of all. Again, I thank the Minister for his attendance to deal with this important national subject.