I welcome the opportunity of making a contribution to this debate. I should like to thank Deputy Seán Barrett for introducing this Bill into the House. I know the Government will accept it in principle but because the Minister has published his own Bill perhaps Deputy Barrett will agree to incorporate his Bill in the Minister's Bill which, in general, is the same in principle. The Minister has proposals in his Bill which deal with under-age drinking.
This Bill gives us an opportunity to express concern about the problem of under-age drinking. The abuse of alcohol is a major problem in Ireland today. This is especially true when 15, 16 and 17-year olds indulge in alcohol. Facts are beginning to emerge which show that the problem is getting greater. More and more young people are starting to drink heavily early in life. On the law of averages, many of they will become heavy drinkers and so the chain of misery will be added to. Innocent people whose only crime will be falling in love with drunkards will have their lives clouded with misery. This need not be the way because if we get a grip on the problem we can support young people in their determination to be sober. But that is not happening. Figures from the Irish Council on Alcoholism show that the age at which young people start to drink has come down drastically in the last 20 years. In 1970 one in ten under the age of 17 were regular drinkers. Now the figure is one in three. Over half of them have been drunk several times and there are teenagers under the age of 17 years who have been drunk on several ocaasions.
The question is often asked where these young people get the money to purchase alcohol. The answer that I get is that the money is given to them by parents who do not bother to question them as to what they require the money for. It is also given to them by older brothers or sisters. Many young people do summer jobs and have babysitting jobs for which they get money. There are many other ways as well. Then there is the question of where the young people get the alcohol. It is available in off licences, supermarkets and public houses, and according to the present law any young person over the age of 15 years can purchase alcohol provided it is in a sealed or corked vessel. There is a great need to change the law.
The vast majority of public houses, off-licences and supermarkets will not supply alcohol to under-age people but there are others that do supply it. There is a serious problem in the Dublin area where alcohol is supplied to young people. In a recent court case an off-licence holder in the Phibsboro area applied for the renewal of his licence. The Garda Síochána were aware that this off-licence holder was breaking the law by supplying alcohol to people of a very young age. The Garda therefore opposed the granting of this licence. The judge agreed not to renew the licence. However the off-licence holder appealed against this decision of the courts and his appeal was granted and, according to the law, once an appeal is granted one is back in business until such time as the case is held in another court. This is the situation here. This man is back in business and that will be the case until there is another court hearing.
I heard of another case in my own constituency where the local people were concerned that the local public house in the Finglas south area were supplying alcoholic drink to very young children, and the tenants' association, of their own accord, decided to take this publican to court and had the support of the Garda. The justice heard several witnesses including the Garda and, after consideration, he decided to grant the licence to the publican because there was not sufficient evidence to prove that these young children were getting the drink in that public house. The type of evidence he wanted consisted of photographs of the children coming out of the pub with the drink. I know that the tenants' association spent a considerable amount of money trying to ensure that this individual would not be granted a licence, but their efforts were fruitless. As long as district justices adopt that type of attitude it will be very difficult for the Garda to operate.
There is an obligation on parents to face the possibility that their 16 year old son or daughter drinks. This is something that many parents will not accept. The statistics are not fantasy. It should not be assumed that the neighbour's child is the only culprit. Everybody blames the schools for not doing more. I do not because I think most schools spell out the facts, the dangers and the problems in relation to excessive drinking and alcoholism. There is a great need to change the attitudes of people towards the use of alcohol here. It seems that we cannot celebrate anything in this country without alcohol. No matter what the function, whether it is a death, a marriage or a christening, we must have alcohol. There are people who honestly believe that these things could not go on without alcohol.
There are many people going to England now. I emigrated to England myself. In England an Irishman is mostly described as an Irish drunk. Television comedians describe Irishmen as Irish drunks. When I emigrated to England I was a casual drinker myself and having worked there for a few years I saw the way that many Irishmen and women brought down the good name of Irish people by the way they abused alcohol. I decided to join the pioneers and have worked in the pioneer association in England and here while time permitted me to do so. Since I became a Member of this House I have not been able to give the same amount of attention to it, but I recognise the great work that the pioneer association has done in England and it is still operating very satisfactorily for many Irish people. It is almost accepted in England as an Irish association.
There are many people going to England now. They go to public houses because they are lonely and hope to meet friends. In fact many people here boast about the amount of alcohol they can consume. In England the average Englishman has a different attitude altogether. He may go out to drink every night but he does not drink a pint but a glass of beer, and he only drinks a few and does not come home staggering drunk. In other European countries alcohol is taken mostly with meals. This is not so here.
The people that have been involved in the manufacture and the promotion of the sale of alcohol have embarked on a massive advertising campaign. Many if not all the advertisements are misleading. I am not surprised that young people are impressed, particularly by the television advertisements. The impression they give is that if one has a pint one is better looking, stronger, more effective and has more sexual appeal. In addition local authorities provide prominent places for the advertising companies to put up those huge advertisements. Those promoting the sale of alcohol are prepared to pay because advertising pays.
Many young people drink because of pressures which they have not the maturity to resist. Some suffer from lack of confidence to face social situations without a crutch. Some have not the courage face disappointments without an anaesthetic. The person who finds judgments and decisions difficult when sober can be completely irresponsible when under the influence of alcohol. Many go to the public house to find friends but friends met there will remain friends only while such persons have money in their pocket. When the money goes, the friends disappear. A real friend is one who is prepared to lose your friendship in order to help you. Real friends are scarce and are not to be found in public houses. The physical and psychological danger of alcohol to the growing person is great.
The abuse of alcohol is our greatest social problem. We have the highest rate of alcoholism in Europe. At present, there are almost 200,000 alcoholics in this country and quite large numbers of these are women. When I was a young man women would not be seen in a public house but today it is a regular feature. Young girls in their place of employment make arrangements to meet in the public house. Many would describe the public house now as a social centre. With young people, there is always the danger of taking a few extra drinks.
While I speak about 200,000 alcoholics, I am also aware that there are many more. Those I have mentioned are those who go to hospitals or institutions for treatment. There are many thousands who do not even admit to alcoholism, so we must take their numbers into consideration. No human tragedy seems to squeeze the life out of those who love the victim as does alcoholism. No other experience produces that distinctive haggard look, the worn look that so often marks the spouse and children of the drunkard. If pain is something that works its way into the eyes and gets written into the face, then there must be much pain in those who live their live in the shadow of somebody who is too fond of drink. Money problems bring their own difficulties and so does a vigil spent watching somebody dying of cancer over a period of months. These are great afflictions which leave their mark, but the excessive drinking habits of a partner or parent seem to bring a form of weariness and physical ageing that outdoes all other griefs put together.
There is a great problem for the hotel owner and those working in public houses in being able to establish the correct age of a teenager. For this reason, there is a great need to introduce identification cards. I cannot understand why everybody is not obliged to carry one. I have no doubt that the identification card would benefit the holder as much as it would benefit the Garda Síochána.
Under-age drinking has caused serious problems here, especially in towns and cities. Cider parties are a regular feature, particularly in the city of Dublin. Young people who take part in such parties have caused millions of pounds worth of damage in the city of Dublin through crime and vandalism. Many of the places damaged include churches and schools. Young people coming home from cider parties make attacks on the old. Bus crews are a regular target and the way our law operates the gardaí are sometimes powerless. Even though they can apprehend the culprit, there is not much satisfaction to be got out of that because all they can do is send for the parents. Sometimes the parents refuse to come to the station so the gardaí have to take the young persons home. When they arrive there, rather than being thanked for bringing the culprit home the gardaí are abused.
Parents should be made responsible for young people and made pay for the damage which teenagers cause. Until the law is changed, the situation will not improve. Many buildings the taxpayer has contributed to have been the subject of vandalism and because of that community buildings under construction at the moment either have no windows or small windows to prevent the vandals from entering. There is a great need to update the legislation on under-age drinking and, in general, on the sale of drink. The Minister has circulated a Bill which deals with this problem and I have no doubt that it will be discussed during this session.
I hope the proposals in this Bill will improve the situation, although I am not happy with some aspects of the Bill. There is no need to extend the hours of drinking. Doing that is like sending for an oil tanker when there is a fire, rather than for the fire brigade. The present hours of drinking should be sufficient and "time" should be "time". In Britain, when time is up the publican puts the towel on the pumps and nobody will be served after that. We talk about the extension of drinking hours as being done to help the tourism industry. Many tourists come to England and the pubs there close at 10.30 p.m. They close at 2 p.m. in the afternoon and do not open until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. in the evening. On Sunday the pub will open from 12 noon to 2 o'clock and from 7 o'clock until 10 o'clock in the evening. Why we want to extend opening hours to midnight I do not know. When the Bill comes before the House we will express our views on that.
In relation to licences, I know that tourists might like to have the opportunity to have a drink with their meal but the Vintners' Association and I are concerned because the publican will be at a disadvantage. The publican will be obliged to close at midnight while the restaurant can remain open until an early hour in the morning. I am not worried about the tourism aspect because of the difference in the price of a drink here and in Great Britain or the North of Ireland. If a pint costs about 82p in Britain or in the North, a tourist here would have to add a pound to it.
Parents have a grave obligation in relation to their children. They should make sure they know where their teenagers are and on what they are spending their money. I am glad to have had an opportunity to debate this serious problem.
