Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

During the pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill Professor Joe Barry said that minimum unit pricing is a proven effective measure with gains in the short term. That is the reality. This part of the Bill is probably the most important. I welcome that there is cross-party support for it in the Seanad. I note there was a minority viewpoint in that regard in the committee report but there is widespread support for this measure. The Department needs to square-off the VAT issue and the use by supermarkets of alcohol as a loss leader.

The cross-Border issue was raised at the committee and it remains a pertinent issue. Senators Reilly and Wilson also raised the issue of the potential smuggling of illicit alcohol. We are following the Scottish model. I was heartened by the remarks of the former Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Mr. Jim Wells, who would not be so friendly in regard to other matters, that be believes there should be co-ordination between North and South on this matter.

The role of pricing in this Bill is critically important. The greater the availability of cheap alcohol the more people will buy and drink. As the price of alcohol increases, there is less consumption of it. We learned this from the Health Research Board during its attendance at the pre-legislative scrutiny meeting on this Bill.

I agree with Senator Craughwell that the volume of alcohol being consumed by young people in terms of pre-drinking at home before they take a taxi or bus to a nightclub or pub is frightening. My former office was located in the heartland of the universities and institutions of technology in Cork. The number of people who go out drinking on a Thursday night in particular is staggering. During my time in college students who had money bought a pint and a bag of chips on the way home or we save our money to go to the nightclub, where we got curry and chips.