The Progressive Democrats have joined Labour and Fine Gael in their criticism of the Minister for Health Mr Martin following the launch of a new alcohol-awareness campaign aimed at teenagers.
The PDs chairman, Mr John Minihan, said the Minister had confused the issue of pub deregulation with under-age drinking by saying he was opposed to deregulation of the licenced trade on public health grounds.
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Mr Minihan said the law governing the sale of alcohol to minors should be properly enforced and that the minister was using the issue "as an excuse not to deregulate the current out-of-date licensing practices."
Fine Gael deputy leader, Mr Jim Mitchell said the government were sending a "mixed message" to the public. "On the one hand this Government has recently extended pub drinking hours and on the other hand it is launching an expensive awareness campaign on the dangers of alcohol consumption," he said.
Party colleague Mr Gay Mitchell also criticised extended drinking hours and said Mr Martin applied double standards by failing to act on what he claimed is a breach of Government guidelines on alcohol advertising by RTE over the sponsorship of the TV programme Friends.
Ms Roisín Shortall, Labour’s education spokeswoman, said the problem of underage drinking in Ireland was a complex social issue that could not be solved by a mere awareness campaign.
She said the government response was "completely inadequate" and accused the Minister of failing to introduce the same restrictions on alcohol advertising as face the tobacco industry, saying Mr Martin did "not got the courage to take on the alcohol companies."
"If we are serious about tackling this scandal we need a concerted campaign across a range of Departments to protect young people from the dangers of alcohol," she said.
Ms Shortall called on Mr Martin to implement the National Alcohol Policy that was published in September 1996 and which "has been gathering dust on a shelf" since.
The government campaign has been prompted by a survey to be released next week that shows Irish young people far outstrip their European counterparts in alcohol consumption.