I welcome the thinking behind this if it is to reduce the consumption of cigarettes and alcopops in particular. I wish to focus upon the alcopops issue for a moment. An extra 35 cent on the cost of a drink that already costs between €4 and €5 is going to have absolutely no impact on the number of alcopops sold on an annual basis. Barmen will tell you that young people who are buying alcopops often do not even look for their change. If the Government is serious about targeting a specific drink type and trying to price it so as to reduce consumption significantly, 35 cent is a miserable effort at doing so. An alcopop like Smirnoff Ice costs about €5 in Dublin and €4 outside Dublin. Raising this to €5.35 is not going to reduce the consumption of that drink in Dublin. So this is effectively a taxation on the backs of young people on the pretence that the Government is trying to reduce the consumption of alcopops. The result will be that the exact same amount of alcopops will be drunk next year, in fact probably more because of the aggressive marketing campaigns those companies have. The Government, though, will be taking a nice slice of taxation off the backs of young people.
I am happy to see the increase in prices on cigarettes. That is an adequate and good measure. In relation to the alcopops, however, this is neither one nor the other. It is not going to have the desired effect of reducing consumption. If the Government was serious about that it would significantly increase the price. This would force young people to think again and buy alternative drinks. Unfortunately that will not happen with this relatively small increase. We are taxing young people but getting no social benefit from it.
We have the worst binge drinking problem in Europe, as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will know. It is not a laughing matter. Two out of every five 12 to 15 year-olds binge drink once a week at the moment. That is a horrifying figure, and most of them binge drink on alcopops. This measure will have no social impact in terms of reducing the consumption of this drink. On the other hand, it will tax young people. Consequently, I have a major problem with this proposal.