Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for being here. I commend Senator MacSharry for doing a little bit more than talking about this issue. He has put deep thought in, taken action and is working this through to budget costs. I take it that he is saying the Bill if implemented would raise €200 million per annum. It is a lot of money and an interesting concept.

Usually, I agree with much of what Senator Barrett says, but this evening I will disagree with him regarding the links between alcohol and suicide having worked in health promotion for four to five years and as the mother of teenagers, which is real, hands-on experience. My children have a whole cohort of friends in that age group. I have also spoken to a psychiatrist who works in this area. There is no doubt that there is a very strong correlation between alcohol and mental health incidents, alcohol and accidents and alcohol and suicide. I take Senator Barrett's point that there needs to be more research into the causes of suicide, but the evidence I have seen is that alcohol is arguably the greatest contributor. I may be wrong, but that is based on my conversations and observations. The only answer here is a multi-pronged approach. That is always the case; it is never just one approach.

We are looking at new habits in this country when it comes to alcohol. I was surprised at the description of "binge drinking" as involving three or four drinks. To be fair, anybody on a night out is bingeing based on that description. However, my definition of "bingeing" is much more than that. I am seeing so many young people bingeing before they go out. It is common practice among my peers - the mothers of teenagers of 14 and 15 years - to check the ten or 12 children coming to dress in a house to see if anyone has alcohol on them. We also check them leaving the house to see if there is alcohol on their breath. This is happening in some of our homes. These kids are going into well-supervised discos so they cannot have drink in their possession there. However, they may have it on their breath. They burn out very quickly once they have alcohol and need lots of water. If they mix it with another substance, they are in real danger. There are new habits around and I find that young people are drinking to get drunk, not just to enjoy themselves. I was talking to a teenager recently. She is 19 years old and has moved to Canada. Having been there for four or five weeks, her feedback is "My God, Ireland is so druggy". We really binge here. The feedback is different from what Senator Barrett was saying.

I also take issue with my good friend Senator Mary Ann O'Brien who said that when people wake up the following morning, it is with feelings of low self worth. I disagree that they wake up with those feelings. They wake up with sore heads but do not consider it a reason for their lower self-esteem, rather they consider it normal. We have normalised alcohol into our culture to a great extent over the centuries, albeit we agree that there is a new type of binge drinking.

The following is something really dangerous. We all know we should get our kids into sport, but now "Get into sport" is synonymous with "Get into alcohol". This is because drink provides the large advertising support for sporting events. I favour breaking that link. I would love if some of the fund in Senator MacSharry's Bill would go towards that. Many of our children grow up and win and the celebration happens in the pub. So much talent is wasted because the transition for the 16, 17 and 18 year old is into the pub. In every town, there are pubs which specialise in serving the youth and are better for youth to frequent.

We must look at new ways to find out more about young people before they, sadly, take their lives. I have been exploring this a little as it is a huge concern. Approximately a month ago, there were seven suicides in one week in Galway. There were two alone in Moycullen. That was across a range of ages. In a period of two months over the last three months, two friends of my 19 year old son took their lives. This is visiting me and our families. It is so common and it has really gone overboard. One of the things I see in other communities is that wherever there is a river, there is a very significant risk. We have the River Corrib in Galway. I have seen in Cork there is a river watch, but it would take 1,000 people to man it. One might have two people on a night, who have to be debriefed. It is a huge amount of work. We need real, practical help. I spoke to someone who did a river watch and talked a girl down from taking her life but she was back three nights later to attempt suicide again.

Something we could promote is "journaling" at an anonymous level. If there was a safe place where young people could document their feelings it would be useful. We must learn more about them before they take their lives.

I was looking at some evidence from New Zealand and Australia.