Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Will the Leader invite the Minister for Health to the House to talk about the issues around alcohol services in the State? I spoke last week on the alcohol problem in the State and I feel that I have to bring it up again.

After some research I was shocked to see the findings. Figures in the Health Research Board’s national alcohol diary survey show the following: over 150,000 people in Ireland are dependent drinkers; more than a 1.35 million people are harmful drinkers; and 30% of people who were interviewed said they experienced some form of harm as a result of their own drinking. The report also revealed that 75% of alcohol consumed is done as part of binge drinking and that people underestimate the amount they drink by about 60%.

I shall provide further facts, which I hope is okay with Senators, because they provide shocking figures. There are 88 deaths every month in Ireland directly attributable to alcohol. This is three people per day who die from an alcohol-related illness in this wonderful country of ours. One in four deaths of young men aged 15 to 39 in Ireland is due to alcohol. There are almost twice as many deaths due to alcohol in Ireland as are due to all other drugs combined. Alcohol was implicated in 137, one in three, of all poisoning deaths in 2013, more than any other single drug. Alcohol poisoning has claimed one life each week. Some 900 people are diagnosed with alcohol-related cancers and nearly 500 people die from these diseases every year.

Alcohol is a factor in half of all suicides in Ireland. Alcohol is also involved in over one third of cases of deliberate self-harm, peaking around weekends and public holidays. Alcohol is a factor in one third of all drownings in Ireland. In 2011, over 14,000 people were admitted to the liver unit in St. Vincent’s Hospital for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Every day, 1,500 beds in our hospitals are occupied by people with alcohol-related problems. Alcohol-related illness cost the health care system €800 million in 2013. These are scary and shocking figures.

The question must be asked, how much is too much? The Health Research Board has found there is a strong belief among 85% of people in Ireland that the current level of alcohol consumption in Ireland is too high and 58% of people think the Government is not doing enough to reduce alcohol consumption, while 19% think the Government is doing enough. However, 58% of people think not enough is being done. It is scary. Some 78% believe that the Government has a responsibility to implement public health measures to address high levels of alcohol consumption.

These are just a few of the stark figures from the Health Research Board’s report on alcohol harm. Behind those figures are thousands of families, some of whom I meet daily, who require support and guidance in dealing with the stress, anxiety and heartbreak of a having a loved one with an alcohol problem. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health to come to the House to give an overview on the supports being offered by the State to people who have a problem with alcohol and the supports offered to their families.