James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have not spoken on this Bill before because it was the remit of my ministerial colleague while I was Minister for Health. Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell has said much of what I was going to say. My figures vary slightly - they come from the Irish Cancer Society - and show that there are 900 new alcohol-related cancer cases every year. The WHO classifies alcohol as a class 1 carcinogen, meaning that it causes cancers of the mouth, the pharynx, the larynx, the oesophagus, the liver, the pancreas, the bowel and the breast in humans. What of the 1,500 beds occupied every night out of the approximately 11,000 in our system that are related to alcohol use? What of the tens of thousands of families whose lives have been destroyed because of alcohol in terms of the hurt it has caused, the damage to relationships, the unwanted pregnancies and the violence, not to mention obesity, of which alcohol is a huge part? Not alone is it highly calorific, it also reduces one's resolve when one is trying to be a bit more restrained. It causes lowering of blood sugar, which will make one more hungry, and causes a low-grade gastroenteritis, which makes one seek out foods to relieve that. This is a serious problem. Alcohol also suppresses the mitochondrion, which is the engine of the cell. That is why we feel so bad the next day and have so little volition and energy.

We have an ambivalent relationship with alcohol, and I am no different from anyone else in this regard, but we have an opportunity today to support the Minister of State, Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, in what I believe is a hugely important public health initiative. I refer to those who asked for other measures to be included in the Bill. First, why let perfection get in the way of the perfectly good? Second, we all know full well that if an amendment on low-cost selling is tabled today, it will delay the passage of this Bill considerably. It is an issue that has to be addressed and I hope the Government does address it.

With regard to the smaller operator, there is no doubt that visibility is of key importance. If there is any doubt about that all we have to do is look at the plain packaging of cigarettes and the way the industry fought against that because it was the last billboard on which to advertise its product. A lovely array of shelves of different types of alcohol including alcopops, wine or whatever part of the industry one wants to focus on, and the multicolours that will attract a young person's eye, is advertising. We know that to be the case with cigarettes, so why do we not acknowledge it when it comes to alcohol? We have to protect our children from starting to drink too young. The gastroenterologists in Beaumont Hospital will tell us that we are seeing cirrhosis in men in their mid-20s, something never seen previously. That is astonishing, and is as a result of the availability of cheap alcohol. As for not including the small corner shop, I remind Members they did not sell alcohol 20 years ago. The argument being made now is that it is the only way the smaller operators can survive, which I do not buy-----