I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, back to the House. We resume with Senator Mullins, who has three minutes remaining.
Alcohol Consumption: Statements (Resumed)
I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. I welcome also this very important debate and discussion. On other days when we have discussed this issue, the many problems associated with the abuse of alcohol have been raised, such as domestic violence, unwanted pregnancy, child abuse, pressure on the health services and the fact that our accident and emergency rooms are full at weekends and 2,000 hospital beds are occupied as a result of alcohol abuse. That is without mentioning the number of road deaths, other health issues and the increase in the number of suicides in recent years, many attributed to the abuse of alcohol. We all agree there is no more sad sight than witnessing young people on our streets at night getting sick, not knowing where they are and exposing themselves to grave danger.
The price of alcohol is a major issue and we must bite the bullet in this regard. Minimum pricing must be introduced. It is crazy that in the large supermarkets one can buy beer and other alcohol more cheaply than a bottle of water. Alcohol is a drug capable of damaging people's health and its availability at such a low price is not acceptable. The cheap and easy availability of drink in supermarkets, off-licences and petrol stations is seriously damaging the health of many people. It is also killing the pub trade. This is a controlled environment where the barman decides whether a customer has had enough and, in many cases, looks out for that person if he or she is in danger. Those of us who come from rural Ireland know the difficulties the local pub trade is experiencing. The multiples have a very unfair advantage in that area. We must call for stricter control of the sale of alcohol.
Alcohol should be located in a cordoned off area in large supermarkets and that proof of identity should be requested if it is being purchased by a young person. There should be mandatory training for staff involved in selling alcohol. There is little doubt but that those who are under age are consuming alcohol purchased by their older friends. This is a major issue. In the context of education, schools and colleges must place much greater emphasis on alerting young people to the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. We should use and exploit social media to get the message across in this regard, particularly as so many young people use such media.
My final comment relates to rehabilitation facilities which are inadequate to cater for the number affected by addiction. There is a lack of residential facilities, particularly public facilities. If one has money, one can gain entry to a private residential facility. If, however, one does not have money, one will have difficulty in obtaining treatment in a residential setting. A number of years ago the HSE closed down a wonderful facility in Ballinasloe - the town in which I live - that was doing tremendous work in treating people for addiction to drugs and alcohol. An adequate facility was not established to replace it. I am concerned that many medical practitioners regard people with alcohol problems as a nuisance. As a result of what happened in Ballinasloe, this problem is not being taken seriously. I urge the Minister of State to consider the position on the facilities in place for the treatment of addiction, particularly the number of residential beds available. The facilities in place must be publicised in a much better way in order that many of those who suffer from the effects of alcohol addiction can be catered for and receive treatment in a more timely fashion and more suitable surroundings.
The Senator is like Galway, he scored in extra time.
Alcohol has been available either as a product or a commodity for as long as people have been on the planet. These statements are on alcohol consumption as opposed to alcohol abuse. I would, therefore, like to consider some of the positive aspects of alcohol before I focus on the downsides. I am partial to a drink. When consumed properly by adults, alcohol can be of benefit both socially and from the point of view of health. It lends gaiety to festive occasions and can be a source of comfort at funerals and other times of grief and trauma. A drop of sherry brings a good colour to one's complexion. All of these aspects must be mentioned before we refer to the downsides.
The alcohol industry is extremely important to the economy of this country and many others. For example, the annual turnover of the industry in Ireland is €3 billion. It is responsible for generating €2 billion in VAT and excise revenues and employs over 50,000 people. A great number of the owners of pubs have raised their families on their premises. Pubs are a huge part of the fabric of Irish life, particularly in isolated rural areas where they provide the only social outlet for many. I refer, for example, to elderly and single men who live alone. I take the opportunity to compliment publicans. I accept that there are bad apples in every barrel and that individuals occasionally let the side down. In the main, however, publicans are exemplary. They run their businesses professionally and have a great sense of their duty of care for their customers. I would trust most publicans to ensure their customers do not over-imbibe. If people do have one too many, they are immediately taken care of by those publicans to whom I refer.
The difficulty we face is that most individuals no longer drink in pubs. People purchase alcohol in off-licences and consume it in their apartments, homes and less salubrious places. As Senator Michael Mullins indicated, there is some level of control when people drink in a pub.
However, there is no control over what happens in a private house and there is no one to say, "Stop, you have had enough" or to say one should not mix drinks. The focus should be on the off-licence trade. What can the Garda Síochána do about young people walking around in broad daylight with litre bottles of Coke which are laced with vodka or Bacardi or whatever else? It is impossible for a garda to apprehend someone in those situations until such time as they have drunk themselves silly and they begin misbehaving. This is when the garda can act but the damage has been done by then. It is rare that a Member of the House on his or her way home, to an apartment in my case or a hotel in other cases, will not encounter some of the most sickening sights of young men and women too behaving in the most debauched fashion, such as urinating in public, abusing people, falling all over the place, or roaring and shouting until the small hours of the morning. They are not coming out of pubs in that condition; they are coming out of their homes or their garages or wherever they group together. That is where it is happening for them.
I am confident the Minister of State has the question of below-cost selling in off-licences on his priority list. The Government has shied away from tackling the question of advertising and sponsorship of alcohol products. The Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Shortall, had very strong views on control of alcohol sponsorship. Clearly she was at variance with some of the senior members of the Cabinet on that issue, as she was on other issues. Some senior Ministers went on the record of the House as saying they were in favour of sponsorship of football and sports and cultural events by drinks companies. I do not propose a blanket ban on such sponsorship but rather I call for a coherent Government policy as to how much of this sponsorship is permitted and what is not permitted.
Drink-driving is a taboo subject and something for which we have no sympathy. We are winning in this regard. The Garda Síochána received additional powers which it is using. Most people have finally got the message that one does not go behind the wheel of a car with drink taken. I compliment the young people of Ireland because it is anathema to a young person that anyone would drink and drive.
The drink culture is big in Ireland and we all bought into it. The caricature of the drunken Irishman is not without foundation, which is sad to say. We have contempt for the drug abuser and for the drug pusher who is reviled in Irish society but we all have a great soft spot for the fellow who cannot control his drinking, falls all over the place in the pub, spills drink and is a nuisance at a race meeting when he wants to tell you his life story. Maybe we need to get a bit more judgmental - if that is the word I am looking for - and a little less tolerant.
I will finish with a story. I was in Norway not too long ago. I went to an Irish pub but I could not get a Jameson, Paddy or Powers whiskey. One cannot get whiskey in a Norwegian pub unless one is a resident in a hotel. I went to an off-licence to buy a bottle of gin and was directed to a warehouse out of town. There is just one such warehouse in the town which is the size of my own town of Listowel. The place is in the basement of a work space. I was directed into an empty room with a couple of shutters; it was like visiting a prison. Brochures were available on a table from which I had to choose, for instance, No. 45, Cork Dry Gin. The hatch opened, I put in my money and was given the bottle. There is no advertising, no lighting, no cheery feeling about it. It is like going to a funeral. I think that somewhere in between is what we should consider.
Thank you, Senator. John B. Keane will never be lost.
I will begin by extending a warm welcome to the Minister of State, a former colleague of ours in this House and a very valued Member of the 23rd Seanad. I wish him well in his portfolio.
Those inside and outside of this House are acutely aware of the challenges which face the health service. In that context I wish the Minister of State, Deputy White, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, the very best in their endeavours to reform the broken and dysfunctional health service which the Government inherited.
One of the challenges that plagues the health service and society is the problem of alcohol consumption. Let us be honest, we have a serious problem with alcohol.
A recent report entitled, Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Related Harm in Ireland, contains discomforting figures and shows the extent of our alcohol problem that has endured for decades. As many as 1.5 million people consume alcohol in a harmful manner and 30% engage in such harmful behaviour at least once a week, and more than 50% of current drinkers engage in binge drinking, which is six or more standard drinks, at least once a month. The figure increases to 72% for those aged between 18 and 24 years. Some 73% of those aged between 18 and 24 years drank at least five standard drinks and 31% consumed at least nine standard drinks in one drinking session.
The recession has accelerated an already significant problem. The amount of alcohol being consumed by adults has increased yearly since 2009. Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the average per capita consumption of pure alcohol has increased from 11.9 litres in 2010 to 12 litres last year. At the same time the availability of alcohol is widespread. We continue to see a greater affordability of alcohol at a time when our abuse of alcohol continues to rise.
The effects of alcohol abuse go far beyond the individuals concerned. Often it is families, friends and innocent members of the public in the wider community who are affected, either directly or indirectly, by the alcohol pandemic. Excess alcohol consumption is a national and societal issue and affects every village, town and community across the country. It requires a collective solution. Earlier this year the Minister for Health and his counterpart in Northern Ireland, Mr. Edwin Poots, jointly opened the first North-South conference on the issue and that is welcome.
The problem is not confined to the household, because 2,000 beds are occupied by patients suffering alcohol-related illnesses that cost the Exchequer €1.2 billion per annum. This is at a time when we face severe budgetary and financial challenges in the health service. Alcohol is related to one quarter of all admissions to emergency departments in hospitals and in 2010 it was responsible for some 8,000 admissions to specialised addiction treatment centres. Alcohol is a contributory factor in 50% of suicides and in deliberate self-harm. Alcohol also increases the risk of more than 60 medical conditions such as cancers as explained to Members at a recent public consultation hearing conducted in the House. In Ireland three people die every day as a result of alcohol. It is associated with 16% of child abuse cases. Alcohol-related crime cost an estimated €1.19 billion in 2007 and in 2010 some 70,000 crimes were attributed to alcohol-related activity.
Finding a combination of different measures to effectively tackle the problem is something that all Senators should work towards. A number of measures have been proposed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children to stem our over-exposure to and consumption of alcohol. The widespread availability of cheap alcohol is an issue that the Government is committed to tackling. Having access to alcohol that in many cases is cheaper than a bottle of water cannot be tolerated in a society that is deeply affected already by its negative consequences. All one has to do is enter an off-licence, or better still a supermarket, to see the extent to which alcohol has become available and affordable. The introduction of a minimum price is an issue that the Government will consider in the run-up to the budget in December. I shall be interested to hear the Minister of State's view on minimum pricing. We should not encourage the bulk purchase of alcohol by pricing it at a rate which anyone with mere pocket money can afford. We must strike a balance and cater for people that do not abuse alcohol. It is in that context that sport sponsorship also arises.
The drinks industry is worth €2 billion annually to the Exchequer and employs some 70,000 people.
However, alcohol should not be interlinked with every aspect of society. The link between sports and alcohol should be curtailed over a reasonable period. The national substance misuse steering group's report, published in February, found that 16 to 21 year olds had listed alcohol advertisements as five of their top ten favourite advertisements. The report’s recommendations included a ban on all sponsorship of sports and large outdoor events by alcohol companies, as well as a ban on outdoor advertising of alcohol, higher excise duties on some alcohol products and the introduction of minimum pricing. The Government is committed to addressing the use of such sponsorship at sports events and the finer details, including the timeframe for such action, are to be decided by the Cabinet. Some have called for the full removal of such sponsorship, but I would bear in mind the fact that we must strike a balance for those who do not abuse alcohol. Accordingly, I would not favour a total ban of alcohol advertising.
An option which should be considered is early intervention in highlighting in schools the problems associated with alcohol misuse. Each year the Garda Síochána runs a successful programme in second level schools on road safety when students are shown the full extent of the dangers of drink-driving, speeding and driving without a safety belt. It may be worthwhile if a similar project aimed primarily at the responsible use of alcohol was introduced. As adults, we are beginning to come around to the line of thought that we do have a problem that needs action. I am not sure if there is the same awareness among young people. Will the Minister of State consider the need for early intervention in the education system?
As Leader, I will be more than happy to allocate more time and provide more opportunities to debate this issue. If, as a country, we can successfully reduce our reliance on alcohol, we can build a stronger, healthier and safer society for the betterment of all. Again, I thank the Minister for his attendance to deal with this important national subject.
I again welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, to the House. I have already had the opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment. I am certain that he will take up the baton from his predecessor, Deputy Róisín Shortall, because I know they share the same vision and she had made significant progress in this area. The Minister of State will complete this progress because it is extremely important to do so.
I am very glad to witness a change in the debate on alcohol abuse. Throughout the entire quarter of a century I have been a Member I have been raising this issue. In the early days I was laughed at from all sides of the House. It was a not matter that was taken seriously when it should have been. However, we are not alone, as it is a serious problem across the world. Globally, there are 2.3 million premature deaths caused by alcohol consumption which is responsible for 4% of the overall premature death figure. It has severe effects in Ireland because we are at the higher end of the alcohol consumption table, which has been the case for some time. One can go back to Fr. Mathew and his Quaker friend who jointly started the Teetotal Abstinence Society in 1838. Now up to 81% of Irish adults are drinkers and the number of women drinking has increased extraordinarily.
The number of outlets selling alcohol has expanded vastly. I remember raising the question of how these places were licensed. It seemed as if every little huckster shop and supermarket could open an outlet. In some instances, local communities, the local authorities and the police all objected to their opening, but they were still allowed to open. Why? I asked that question on television and got into trouble for doing so.
Alcohol promotions such as happy hour and buy a tray of beer for €1 should be stopped. It is absolute nonsense and guaranteed to undermine people’s health.
We can either operate the existing law or create new law to end distance sales. It is possible to ring an off-licence and have drink delivered, and young people are doing this often. As they cannot afford to drink in pubs, they lay a basis for the end goal, which is not socialising but being drunk, at home and then go out and complete the process in pubs where they can afford it.
Consumption is twice what it was in 1960. Senator Cummins gave the figures but it is twice what it was when I did my intermediate certificate. It is a vast figure and if one breaks it down, it is the equivalent of 44 bottles of vodka, 474 pints or 124 bottles of wine. These numbers increase if one takes out of the equation the 20% of non-drinkers. It is a vast amount. If one were to stack up all 44 vodka bottles or 124 bottles of wine, one would get some notion of how much people are drinking.
There has been a fivefold increase between 1990 and 2006 in the number of off-licences. We know from international studies that accessibility and affordability are the two prime issues, along with advertising. We need to do something about advertising because people are gulled into the idea that they are more sexually attractive and more likely to have a conquest and a good time if they take particular types of drinks. The use of the lure of sexual promise is very dangerous, especially with young people, and we must be very careful about the way in which it is used. I pay no attention to those groups funded by the drinks industry to promote the idea that one can drink safely and so on. Of course one can and for many people it is possible to enjoy a social drink, but I am wary of these groups because they are not independent. When they refer to drinking safely I do not really believe they mean it.
The costs are vast and I believe they are even worse than those referred to already. My information is that they amount to more than €3 billion per year and that the cost to the Exchequer is almost €3,500 per household for alcohol-related problems. That is a vast amount of money. It may not seem to be quite as much as it would have been in the old days before we started landing out €3 billion every so often to bail out the bondholders, but it is nevertheless a vast amount of money.
Two thirds of women in the Coombe hospital stated that they were habitual drinkers, even during pregnancy. This can have a dangerous effect on the foetus. We spoke earlier about protecting women's health but this is a more significant problem than that raised on the Order of Business. The number of children affected is also significant. A total of 100,000 children reported the negative impact of alcohol in their family lives as well as the impacts on mental health and suicide. Alcohol is a depressant and a significant proportion of people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals because of alcohol-related illnesses. It is a contributory factor in 97% of public order offences, a startling and astonishing statistic. It also has an impact on the number of injuries. Anyone familiar with hospitals, and in particular with accident and emergency departments, will know the situation that occurs especially every weekend when the treatment of what I regard as legitimate injuries is frequently interrupted and made difficult by people who are either drunk or on drugs. The vast number of drunks who turn up at accident and emergency departments, especially at weekends, needs to be seriously addressed because it is dangerous for other patients. I remember listening to a radio programme in which someone reported that a man who was drunk came into the accident and emergency department of St. James's Hospital.
He was very difficult, obstreperous and violent with the nursing staff. He then vomited and proceeded to urinate against the wall. He was eventually brought out by security staff who called a taxi but he wandered off before it arrived. The listeners to this programme, however, attacked the hospital for this which is completely wrong. That man, by his grossly selfish, inappropriate and irresponsible behaviour, was possibly exposing people with open wounds to infection by his barbarous and disgusting acts. People like that should be placed in a safe and secure location until the morning when they are then charged in the courts. That may help cure their hangover for them.
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. One would be somewhat taken with Senator Norris’s quite detailed description of what staff in the emergency services have to put up with as a result of intoxication. Whatever about the weekends, which are dreadful, every night in this city accident and emergency units have to deal with people who are comatose as a result of alcohol misuse. It is a societal issue which must be dealt with. The Oireachtas has a responsibility to protect society from itself. However, in this regard, we have failed.
The facts of alcohol consumption and misuse have been outlined in great detail by the Leader. His percentages, however, may have been somewhat conservative as I believe they are far worse. To deal with the problem in the immediate term, we can introduce minimum pricing. There is nothing more appalling than when supermarkets have special offers on alcohol. Some months ago, Senator Power highlighted in the Chamber an appalling advertisement for cheap alcohol on children’s allowance day from a supermarket in Dublin’s north side. As a result of her actions, the advertisement was withdrawn. The problem is one still sees beer for €1 in supermarkets, as Senator Norris observed. Such offers mean young people and students can drink very cheaply which leads to an uncontrolled drinking environment. We can deal with this as a priority through minimum pricing.
I have always advocated the American system of restricting the sale of alcohol to people over 21. The identification card system is rigorously enforced in the United States. While no Member is 21 or near it, everyone knows how young people in, say, Boston will be asked for age identification when looking to buy a drink in a bar. That is the kind of culture we need in Ireland. We also need bar owners and their staff to be vigilant and responsible when serving alcohol. We have all seen people falling off bar stools but who keep getting served which is unacceptable.
The drinks industry sponsoring any sports event is a complete no-no. We need to break the umbilical cord between drink and sport. I would also advocate removing drink licences from GAA, rugby, golf, tennis and other sports clubs as a means to breaking this umbilical cord. There is no reason alcohol should be sold on trains as there is no train journey in this country longer than three hours.
In the long term we need to create a societal change which must start at primary school level and percolate to second level. If we do not get into young children’s mindset that there is a better way to live than abusing alcohol, then we are probably too late. The Minister of State, Deputy White, is an exceptionally capable Minister. I have no doubt he is taking all our views into consideration when formulating his strategy in this area. While he will not be able to solve it instantly with a magic wand, he will start the incremental process of change which will lead to a better and more mature societal outlook to alcohol.
I recall a former justice Minister, Michael McDowell, for all his faults, advocating a café-bar culture. At the time, he did not receive the support he deserved for this idea. The one way of reducing the comatose effects of alcohol is through ensuring people can eat while they are drinking. The café-bar culture is prevalent across Europe and works. It is awful to witness O’Connell Street on a Saturday night when at the same time in Rome people enjoy themselves in a mature way. I am not saying there are no alcohol problems in Italy but there is a different cultural attitude towards its consumption.
We need to explain to and educate young people on how to drink. Parents have a crucial role in introducing their children to alcohol. The notion of total abstinence is not going to happen. Young people are going to drink. The question is whether we can make them drink sensibly. Over the years, we have tackled significant issues successfully and we can tackle this one. We were the brave country that first introduced a smoking ban in bars and restaurants which is now the norm across Europe. The then Minister, Deputy Martin, took the tough decision on smoking. Similar tough decisions need to be taken with alcohol. We need to face down the powerful lobby groups. When the smoking ban was introduced, some lobby groups went on television saying they ran the country. I have news for them. They do not run the country. The Government runs the country and it will do the right thing by society.
Before I ask the Minister of State to conclude, I thank Members for their contributions. Twenty four speakers over two days shows how serious this matter is regarded.
It has been useful to me that the Seanad scheduled a debate on this issue. I assure Members I have taken note of all that has been said on this pressing issue. Members have been very clear on the harm alcohol misuse causes. The national substance misuse steering group's report has been the key in provoking this debate along with the work of the Seanad and the health committee. We have deliberated on these issues and need to make some decisions to bring forward policy instruments to address them.
I have listened to what people have been saying and I have been reading and considering all of the reports prepared, not least the strategy group's report. It is not simply a question of conjecture, anecdote or argument without any basis. There is hard evidence to support the type of effective measures on alcohol control that people have been advocating at what could be termed the softer end of changing people's attitudes. This is always a difficult area and when we refer to the need to change people's attitudes and to approach it in a holistic way, everyone agrees on the face of it that it makes sense to try to change the culture and so on. However, it is always difficult to work out exactly how one delivers this. We need to introduce harder measures, policy instruments put into law, that are effective. They should not be put into law for the sake of demonstrating a view or our concern but they should actually have an effect.
Members have raised the issue of minimum unit pricing. There has been a debate about this and one hears the reaction from some quarters to the effect that minimum pricing would have no effect. As a recently appointed Minister of State, I have heard both sides of the argument. Some people say it will not have an effect and others believe that it will. Perhaps some vested interests have argued that it would have no effect. We should consider whether there is evidence. Studies have been prepared and it appears this is the case. Recently, the World Health Organization and other bodies have brought forward evidence demonstrating the actual and likely effects and certainty of effects of measures such as minimum unit pricing. This is why the strategy group put those proposals in its report. It was not simply in order that they could have a list of proposals that looked good on paper. The proposals have been tested to see whether they would have an effect and have been shown to have such an effect.
There may be other regulatory mechanisms to reduce ease of access to alcohol. Senator O'Sullivan provided an example from Norway, where there is almost a cloak and dagger atmosphere around access to alcohol. One must look hard for it. He described coming up to a hatch, presenting himself and having to say who he was and what he wanted, and only then was it delivered. It is completely devoid of the presentational context in which alcohol is sold in other countries.
They made me feel rather guilty.
Was that the case? I hope Senator O'Sullivan managed to recover from it reasonably quickly. Anyway, the Senator made an important point. Alcohol is no ordinary commodity, as the title of the famous study put it. It should not have the same level and ease of access as other products. This general viewpoint has been shared across the board. The question is how we put that into practice while remaining consistent with maintaining reasonable access for people who are entitled to it. Apart perhaps from Senator Crown, none of us is advocating any type of prohibition in respect of alcohol. There is a tolerance for reasonable and moderate drinking to which many people have referred. However, the difficulty is the considerable abuse and misuse of alcohol to such a harmful extent and we need to start to address it.
An unanswerable case has been made and it is undeniable that action on alcohol reaps considerable gains in terms of better population health and well-being, enhanced employment and productivity, increased health and social welfare savings, greater health and economic equality, and greater social cohesion and inclusion. There is a broader social and economic imperative involved in the issue. This is the reason alcohol is now considered to be one of the world's top priority public health challenges. Certainly, this is the case in respect of this country for me as a new Minister of State, the Department of Health and the Minister for Health. We have a strong public health dimension to our work with regard to dealing with alcohol misuse because our agenda is to protect and improve the health of the people and this is an important element of it.
Several Members raised the issue of minimum pricing and Senator Cummins asked about my view in this regard. As colleagues are aware we have not yet brought forward the package of measures but I intend to do so soon. Minimum unit pricing features prominently in the report of the strategy group. As I have noted, there is evidence which demonstrates the likely positive impacts of introducing minimum unit pricing. This debate is raging in many countries. Litigation is in play in Scotland. The Scottish Parliament has introduced legislation to provide for minimum unit pricing and it has been challenged by the drinks industry. The case is currently being heard before the Court of Session in Edinburgh and it is likely to end up in the European Court of Justice. There is considerable international interest in this case among the drinks companies and across the board. We will watch the case closely but it is not a case of holding back and watching what others are doing, although we must learn the lessons of what has been achieved elsewhere. We need to make policy decisions ourselves. I assure colleagues that there is a compelling case for minimum unit pricing and this is the approach I will be taking. I am keen to consider all the proposals put forward in the strategy group report and to bring them forward as a package rather than singling out one specific measure for attention today.
I wish to emphasise one point relating to something Senator Norris said. I started in this job four or five weeks ago but I see my role as picking up the baton on the issue of alcohol. There is no question of my going back to the drawing board or unwinding or unpicking the work that has already been achieved. The work is at an advanced stage and I see my role as picking up where my predecessor, Deputy Shortall, left off. I want it to be clearly understood that there is no question of us starting again or rolling back on any of the work or achievements that have been secured.
Senator O'Sullivan raised the issue of whether there are other perspectives in government. That is no secret and it would be strange if there were not other perspectives on this issue across government. That is to be expected. However, my job is to bring forward these proposals and to ensure they are considered by the Cabinet and that is what I intend to do. I fully intend to continue to be guided by the report of the strategy group. It is the set of proposals and recommendations which got the debate going properly in terms of bringing forward policy instruments. I will seek to stay as close as possible to the recommendations contained in the report and to maintain a position that is as close as can be achieved to the proposals set out in that remarkably helpful document. This is the undertaking I give to the House today.
Senator Mullins raised the issue of minimum pricing. I have dealt with that issue. There is a convincing case for it. He also touched on the question of availability and accessibility. The question of the accessibility of alcohol products within stores, supermarkets and other retail units is important. This features in the strategy group's report as well and it will also feature in the proposals I intend to bring forward. I note the points Senator Mullins made in respect of rehabilitation facilities and the problem of the lack of residential beds which he identified.
Senator Cummins dealt with the issue of minimum pricing. He also made the point that he believed the link between sport and advertising ought to be curtailed, although he was of the view that we should strike a balance in this regard and that he would not be in favour of a total ban. It was interesting to hear the views of all the Senators who spoke on this question and they ranged across the board. There seems to be a predominance of the viewpoint that there should be a radical move in this regard. That would appear to be the majority view as I understand it although some have argued, as Senator Cummins did, for something somewhat less than an outright ban.
Senator Norris referred to the proliferation of outlets where alcohol is available and I have great sympathy for the point of view he expressed. The extraordinary proliferation of outlets and venues where alcohol can be purchased is a cause for concern. However, where licences have been extended over a period of years, it would be enormously difficult to reverse that development, although not impossible to do so. As licences, to a great extent, are assets, there are difficulties involved when one contemplates revoking them. Nonetheless, I accept the Senator's point and I have discussed the question of the enormous number of outlets with officials in my Department. It is hard to see how it can be addressed but I am interested in hearing the views of Senators and others on the matter.
Senator Conway spoke about minimum pricing and advertising, and argued that the practice of serving alcohol to people who are already intoxicated is still going on and is totally unacceptable. It is actually an offence for a publican to serve a person who is clearly intoxicated. If I am not mistaken, it is an offence for any individual citizen, publican or not, to buy a drink for someone who is intoxicated. That is my understanding of the law and I am certain it is an offence for a publican to serve an intoxicated customer. People should be very conscious of that fact.
Senator Conway argued that we need to face down the lobby groups. As a Government, we must listen to all interests and be aware of the different viewpoints and perspectives of various groups. However, at the end of the day, Ministers have a responsibility to make decisions in the best interests of citizens and in this case, in the interests of the health and well being of citizens. In that context, there is an overwhelming case for the introduction of the kinds of measures set out in the strategy group's report. The proposals that are ultimately brought forward may not be absolutely on all fours with everything in the report but I will seek to remain as true and faithful as I can to what is recommended in that report.
I thank the Cathaoirleach for arranging this debate and assure the House that I will take cognisance of all that has been said during the debate.
Sitting suspended at 5.25 p.m. and resumed at 5.30 p.m.