Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to convey my sadness at the passing of Big Tom. He was an absolute legend - a gorgeous man who was so talented and gave so many people an awful lot of joy with his music. He will be sadly missed. I also commend Senator Bacik on this morning's event as part of Vótáil 100. It was so inspiring to see so many fantastic young people speak from the heart and speak so passionately.

I strongly welcome the landmark study published by the HSE yesterday, which makes a really important contribution at a vital time for public health policy in Ireland. I warmly welcome the report The Untold Story: Harms Experienced in the Irish Population due to Others' Drinking. It is like a breath of fresh air. It is the result of three years of extensive research from Dr. Ann Hope, Professor Joe Barry and the economist, Sean Byrne. It shows in stark detail the impact that alcohol harm is having, not just on the individuals but on their families, friends and wider society around them. I know I have been speaking around this issue and work at the coal-face as I see clients every single day. I still see clients, still work the programmes solely with family members and see at first hand the worry, stress and anxiety that comes from having a loved one with an alcohol problem and how devastating it is.

The authors go into great detail about the economic impact of alcohol harm in terms of things like crime, the burden on the health service, chronic illness and road accidents. All of this is very important but they also give a voice to the costs that are not captured easily by the numbers such as the stress, worry, depression, lost sleep, harassment, verbal and psychological abuse and the damage to family life.They also emphasise that children are most negatively affected. This is the piece that I really want to highlight, particularly in terms of witnessing violence or verbal abuse in the home. As a country we have got to face up to this reality and our harmful relationship with alcohol.

I want to thank the HSE. I want to thank the authors for providing more solid evidence. This is something I have been working on for the last ten years. We do need to progress the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015. I will welcome it when it comes to the Dáil. It is a matter of urgency. I would like to ask the Leader if the Minister can update us on when it will be coming back in. We need to look at taking alcohol harm seriously. We are not talking about addiction here. We are talking about our culture, the alcohol harm and the impact it has on the individual, families and work colleagues - the people around them. I really believe we need to provide renewed and improved funding to services, not just for those with the problem but especially for the families.