Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Leader may have read last week a statement issued by Professor John Ryan, a consultant in the hepatology department of Beaumont Hospital, in which he stated that the incidence of people presenting with liver disease at the hospital had increased by 30% since the first lockdown. He attributed this, and was clearly right, to the increased consumption of alcohol in the home during the lockdowns.

Home drinking is entirely different than drinking in pubs or restaurants or at parties where it enhances the company, the conversation and the fun. Drinking at home is all about drink and there is no control, supervision or moderation. We are approaching the Christmas period and the advertising tsunami for drinks is starting. There is a great deal of it in the media and, in particular, on television. It is a very trying time for people with an alcohol addiction, be it an active addiction or in recovery. I speak with some experience.

A couple of years ago, I made a suggestion in the House that was not taken up, but I will repeat it now. Diageo and all the other companies in the drinks sector constantly tell us to drink responsibly. They advertise that message and spend money on it, which is good, but I have a practical suggestion for them. When people are hosting guests at Christmas or any other time and they are pouring out alcohol, most of them have no clue as to what a unit of alcohol is. Some do not drink themselves and just pour free hand. It leads to all sorts of problems. It would not be a great expense to the drinks people to provide with each bottle of spirits sold some form of unit measure so that the housewife or person at home who was the host of the party could use it without feeling any sense of shame. It is a responsible thing to do. I remember how, years ago, a producer of Scotch used to have a twist-off cap that happened to be a measure. It was a double, so it was a large measure, but someone still had something to go by. It would not cost much for that to be replicated or for a small plastic unit measure to be stuck onto each bottle. Through our conversation in this forum, which I hope will be picked up, I appeal to the drinks people to take this suggestion on board. It would make a major contribution to people's health for the remainder of Covid at least.