Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was truly shocked by figures released yesterday by Temple Street Children's Hospital showing more than 100 children under the age of 17 were treated for alcohol poisoning since 2012. The statistics revealed that 22 children aged under 16 presented with alcohol poisoning last year alone; five in the past three years were as young as 12 and one was 11. More than 70 of the overall figure of 114 children treated since 2012 were girls. The stark increase in alcohol consumption, especially among young girls and pre-teens, is very alarming. I previously highlighted the rising tide of liver disease in young Irish women and men in their mid-20s and have urged the inclusion of a minimum price alcohol policy in the upcoming public health Bill to which the Government has committed.

The biggest difference between this country and countries such as France is that in Ireland, Scotland and England the incidence of mortality from cirrhosis of the liver is dramatically increasing while in other countries it is reducing. As shocking as the statistics from Temple Street are, they are representative of only one facility. As such, I call on the Minister to release the total figure of Irish children admitted to hospital with alcohol poisoning. The full extent of this new phenomenon must be revealed and tackled head on as a matter of urgency.