Deputy Coogan has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment of the Dáil the Economic and Social Research Institute's report on post-primary school under-age drinking. He has four minutes. The Minister has one minute.
Adjournment Debate. - Under-age Drinking.
I should like to thank the Minister for taking this issue on the Adjournment, although I am not quite sure which Minister should be here tonight in so far as the problem that has been thrown up by this report indicates that the response to it would be better if there were three Ministers replying rather than one, namely, the Minister for Health, the Minister for Education and the Minister for Justice.
The cost to the country of excessive alcohol abuse has been stated to be in the region of £250 million and I am quoting Dr. McCarthy of the Department of Health from 1984.
Dr. Seán McCarthy.
The cost to people personally and psychologically, through job losses and through absenteeism is also extremely high and is unquantifiable. The response to this issue would have to be a multi-pronged response. First — and I am glad that it is the Minister for Education who is present in this sense — one part of the response must be through the educational system. The second response is through the Department of Justice and the Department of Health combined.
Why are these startling figures thrown up? It is extraordinary the number of children who are drinking under-age at present. I shall not have time to go into the figures. Nevertheless, there are a number of causes, among them obviously is perceived parental behaviour, a simple sociological term meaning that children imitate their parents to a great degree. That in itself might be simplistic but there is another aspect to it which is that the increase in home consumption of alcohol means that there is a ready availability of alcohol in the house for young children if they wish to be tempted. There is a modestly significant association between the variables of parental behaviour and drinking patterns of young children.
Another aspect, of course, is perceived peer behaviour. There is undoubted pressure on young people when they perceive their own group consuming alcohol. I am not sure from a sociological point of view whether that is true, that young people drink together because they are inclined to come together in a group to support each other. Nevertheless, there is some element of influence in group behaviour. An example of this might be in the case of sporting fixtures. Very often in the past we have seen students imitate their elders after the victory of one team over another, where the cup is passed around and alcohol is consumed. I recall at some stage that the GAA, who are to be complimented on this, started boring holes in cups. I do not think that is the real answer to the problem, although it might be one answer. It indicates the need for a change in attitudes rather than a simple solution like that.
The report recommends a number of prevention systems that would reflect on the Department of Education and I shall list them very briefly. The first is to introduce an element of knowledge about drinking for young people; in other words, a simple explanation of the effects of alcohol on physiology and on behavioural patterns. That in itself can be dangerous in so far as very often the knowledge introduces the young person to alcohol.
The Deputy's time is almost up.
I would recommend to the Minister the recommendations regarding the solutions given in the report. The second prong that I was mentioning earlier is the use of identity cards. We have been accused that we would become a police State if we were to introduce them. Nevertheless, I could see the use of identity cards for 18-year olds. If the card carried a driving licence with a photograph, it could carry the blood group of the person involved and the social security number and could be used when a person goes in to vote to prove his or here identity.
The Minister must get time.
I am grateful to Deputy Coogan for raising this important matter. It is intrinsically important, no doubt heightened by its topicality. I have listened carefully to what he has said and will pass it to the Departments that have responsibility for this. In so far as my Department are peripherally involved, they will co-operate.
The Dáil adjourned at 11.30 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 18 December 1986.