Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is very committed to implementing the legislation. I recently attended a Cabinet meeting for a discussion on the abuse of alcohol. The Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar is committed to tackling this issue. Tomorrow he will speak at a conference in Dublin when I hope he will outline the Government's plans for the future. We all know that there is very serious abuse of alcohol. People accept that there is a need for it to be regarded with the same level of seriousness as drink driving or the smoking ban in order that it would not be seen to be acceptable for people to drink in the way they do. Excessive drinking creates problems in the home, for society and the health of individuals, while there is also a cost to the State. The Government is serious about tackling the problem and will bring forward legislation in the very near future. Knowing the Minister, once the legislation is published, he will bring quickly it to the Dáil and this House. I hope that will happen soon and will bring the Senator's concerns to his attention. I will also ask his officials to take note of what has said in this debate and respond to the Senator directly.