In launching the National Alcohol Policy this week, the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, focussed - not unnaturally - on the problems associated with excessive drinking. Few sensible people will take issue with the broad thrust of the Government's approach which is designed to encourage moderate, rather than excessive use of alcohol. Indeed, there is hardly a family in this State left untouched by the problem of excessive drinking with all its attendant miseries of poor health, strained personal relationships and increased financial pressure.
Most parents will also applaud the Minister's trenchant criticism of alcoholic lemonades, a particularly insidious attempt to present alcoholic drinks as a risk free option to young people. Mr Noonan was on less secure ground when he used the launch of the policy document to voice his personal opposition to longer licensing hours. Indeed, the Minister's decision to express a view at this stage was curious, given that the question of the licensing laws is now being examined by the Select Dail Committee on Legislation and Security. Mr Noonan might have been better advised to await the completion of its report before making up his mind.
The Minister appears to have been persuaded by the "weight of empirical evidence" - gathered by the World Health Organisation - which supports the argument that limiting the availability of alcohol could help to alleviate the problem of excessive drinking.
But the Minister's task is not simply to expound broad, worthy principles; he must also take account of the reality on the ground. There is little point in pretending that our current opening hours help to limit alcohol consumption. On the contrary, the chaotic nature of our licensing laws means that some pubs, discos and special functions now enjoy a bewildering range of `special exemptions' allowing them to remain open until at least 2 a.m. Indeed, the very policy document launched by Mr Noonan reported that the number of such special exemptions have increased almost tenfold to over 55,000 since the mid Sixties.
The political task now is to reform the licensing laws in a way that will reflect the lifestyle of modern Ireland. There is a strong case for more relaxed and less restrictive licensing laws. In making this case one is not supporting excessive drinking. Concerns about more teenage drinking, more alcoholism and more road traffic accidents are genuine.
But these do not invalidate the case for longer openings. On the contrary: there are good reasons for believing that a less restrictive licensing regime would allow people to drink at a more leisurely pace.
Clearly, the existing licensing regime has done little to reduce alcohol consumption; a more liberal approach where drinkers are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions may be a better way. Mr Noonan says he doesn't like the idea of "a country where someone sitting behind a desk such as mine signs diktats which tell people what to do". The Minister should be as good as his word; he should give the citizen the freedom to choose.