Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill, which has now gone through the Lower House. I thank the Minister for staying with it.

One of the health issues that has been highlighted is that up to 30% of those attending any accident and emergency department on any night are there because of excessive use or abuse of alcohol. One of the problems that we must face up to is that while we are very quick to criticise the health services, we are not as quick to highlight the issue that 30% of admissions and of those requiring treatment are related, in one way or another, to alcohol. As we speak on this matter, 2,000 people are occupying hospital beds as a direct result of alcohol use, in many cases over a long number of years, and this is something of which we need to be mindful. We need to send out a message that while alcohol can be enjoyed, it must also be realised that excessive use causes problems for long-term healthcare.

I thank the Minister again for sticking with this and ensuring that we are now seeing it in its final Stages.