Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to join in the expressions of sympathy that have been extended to the family of the late Gerry Conlon. Along with his late father and the Maguire Seven, Gerry Conlon suffered enormously by being incarcerated for 15 years for a crime he did not commit. It is particularly despicable that people in the republican movement, who knew down through the years that the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven did not carry out the atrocities they were convicted of perpetrating, allowed them to carry the can for crimes they did not commit.

I welcome the release of Meriam Ibrahim, about whom many Senators have spoken in recent weeks. It proves that international campaigning and pressure can yield results. We welcome the fact that she has been released.

My colleague, Senator Naughton, raised the issue of a report that was published yesterday which showed that harmful drinking is the norm in Irish society. It found that 54% of Irish drinkers consume alcohol in a harmful manner. It is particularly worrying that 98% of the people in question - or 1.4 million of our population - consider themselves to be light or moderate drinkers. The prevalence of harmful drinking is highest, at 75%, among those between 18 and 24 years of age. It is alarming that 15% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 are alcoholics. The whole issue of alcohol use and abuse, and the associated issue of alcohol sponsorship, needs to be considered, particularly given that 3,230 work or study years were lost in the year prior to the conducting of the survey. Could the Minister of State who is responsible for the development of the alcohol strategy come to the House as soon as possible to discuss what we are going to do to address this major issue, which is creating so much ill-health in our country and is imposing such an enormous cost on the health service?