Drink is costing the State the price of a new hospital, a sports stadium and a jet for every Minister every year, the Archbishop of Armagh has said.
Dr Seán Brady was preaching yesterday on "The Price of Intemperance" in St Joseph's church, Dundalk, to mark Temperance Sunday.
An "intemperate climate" had established itself in every social and recreational area of modern Irish life, the archbishop said.
"Thirty per cent of our roadside accidents and 40 per cent of traffic deaths are drink-related. Crime figures show that the majority of public order offences are related to alcohol. The majority of cases presenting to casualty wards at night times are attributable to drink."
He said the net cost to the State of alcohol was ¤900 million a year. "In other words, it costs the State the price of a new hospital, a moderately-sized sports stadium and a Government jet for every minister each year.
"These are just the figures we can count. The broken relationships, the unwanted pregnancies, the bruised spouses and neglected children are harder to quantify. The price of a pint is steep indeed," Dr Brady continued.
"It is not just the social and the sporting events. The religious occasions are also involved: from Baptism to Confirmation, marriage to funerals, we have developed a culture of drinking that is sometimes shocking."
Even more worrying, he said, were the signs that things were getting worse.
"Health figures show that there is an alarming surge in alcohol consumption amongst the young. Young people have more money, resources and choices - yet young people are choosing more alcohol.
"Sometimes I fear we may be witnessing another lost generation - a generation of young people who, instead of emigrating abroad, are leaving the shores of moderation, responsibility and spirituality."
More and more young people were turning to drink, he believed, because they had a "thirst for something deeper".
"Many of our young people, starved of spiritual alternatives and aching for meaning, are choosing alcohol as their preferred anaesthetic."
Though agreeing that the State had a role in legislating to tackle alcoholic excess, Dr Brady said there was also a role for Jesus as "the light of the world".
He said there was a role for the Church and the Pioneer movement "to provide joyful, meaningful and spiritual alternatives to excess".
"Temperance gives serenity of spirit; the kind of serenity and harmony that satisfies the depth of the heart; the kind of harmony that flows from order in one's life; the order that comes from the proper and balanced and reasonable use of the good things of this world."
