Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I very much look forward to working with the Senator on this because her expertise in this area is acknowledged. I am concerned about the point she raised regarding the lack of services in some counties. I will follow up on that to ascertain what can be done to fill the gaps she has identified. Every county is affected by this issue. If there are services in one county, there should be services in another county to match them.

As a society, we have to address our relationship with alcohol. Even 20 years ago, none of us would not have recognised alcohol as a drug and it is timely to have that debate now. It is also time for us to hold up a mirror to society and discuss what we are doing to ourselves, our children and our health services. Consuming alcohol in the home makes it become like consuming any other product. It is a specific, separate product and if children are exposed to that, it will become the norm for them. If people are doing their grocery shopping and a child is sitting in the trolley, they will reach for milk on one self and alcohol on another. This is the path for the child to view the consumption of alcohol as the norm. This is a challenge for everyone in society. The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 will seek to address this. I look forward to working with the Senator on this issue and on the passage of the Bill through Committee Stage.