Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and add my voice to others in support of this Bill, which is badly needed in this country. A fundamental shift is needed.I hope that this is the start of something that will do away with our image internationally as well as our harmful relationship with alcohol. The Bill contains many useful measures but it is only a start. Suggestions such as those made by other Senators regarding, for example, sports stars and other role models who do not partake in alcohol on a regular basis are helpful.

We cannot lose sight of the fact that alcohol consumption has reached alarming levels. When the 20% of adults who abstain from alcohol completely were excluded, consumption figures for 2015 were 46 bottles of vodka, 130 bottles of wine or 498 pints per person annually. Alcohol consumption in Ireland has almost trebled since 1960. Although it has declined by 23% from a peak of 14.3 litres of pure alcohol per capitain 2001 to 11 litres in 2015, this decline has not been consistent. Whatever the statistics, we all agree that our relationship with alcohol and our method of drinking are the crux of the problem.

Despite changing levels of excise duty and affordability having a direct and immediate impact on consumption patterns, we remain almost 2 litres per capitaabove the Healthy Ireland and Public Health (Alcohol) Bill target of 9.1 litres. As all Senators who have spoken have acknowledged, this major issue needs to be addressed.

Growing evidence documents the impact of alcohol-related harm, not just on the individual drinker and his or her family, but on wider society, for example, social disorder, vandalism, violence, other crimes - we could be here all day - reduced community amenities, absenteeism and reduced work performance. As Senator Norris mentioned, the estimated cost of excessive alcohol consumption in terms of health, crime, public order and so on is approximately €3.7 billion per annum.

I will not speak further on the Bill in general. Like most others, I have already taken the opportunity. The Bill may raise small issues for businesses but we cannot in good conscience fail to implement all of the good measures contained in the Bill. I agree with Senator Mulherin about below-cost selling. I am frustrated that we cannot introduce something in that regard. We will spend an hour speaking about the segregation of alcohol in shops but that is a minor issue compared with the harm that below-cost selling causes to smaller retailers. We need to tackle this issue head on. I would be interested in the Minister of State's comments in this regard and I look forward to the debate on the individual sections.