Madam, - Recent statistics have shown that alcohol and drug consumption among Irish youth rose steadily throughout the 1990s and that Ireland currently has one of the most alcohol- and drug-experienced youth populations in the EU. How any politician can say that the figures are exaggerated or that we do not have a problem here is unbelievable. We have a major drug and alcohol problem in Ireland and it is about time we faced up to it.
Alcohol is a drug and a very addictive one. There is also evidence to show that it is the "gateway" to other drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and tobacco. The drinks industry spends hundreds of millions of euro each year on advertising - and because of this "gateway effect" it is indirectly advertising the other drugs as well. One of the main recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol was to restrict alcohol advertising because of its effect on young people. This recommendation was not implemented due to strong lobbying from the drinks industry.
President McAleese has rightly said the level of drinking in Ireland is causing social havoc. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a pastoral letter recently on alcohol and drugs. We hear from the gardaí that in recent tit-for-tat killings over drug territory most of the killers were high on drugs. Indeed most serious criminal activity, be it murder, rape, burglary or assault, is connected with drugs and alcohol. It was alleged recently that traces of cocaine were found in the toilet of the Dáil bar.
What is needed to reverse this trend in Irish society is a cultural change to make it "uncool" to binge-drink or take drugs. This will not be an easy task and will take some time but it can be done. We have no "joined-up" approach to alcohol and drugs and no single Government Department with overall responsibility for implementing a national alcohol and drug policy. We need to set up one.
Such a department should be properly resourced and could use role models such as Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and Derval O'Rourke, who would appeal to the young. The question is: will the Government challenge the vested interest of a powerful and well-resourced alcohol industry? This should be made an election issue. The Government could give a lead here by closing the Dáil bar. After all, very few workplaces have a bar laid on for their workers. - Yours, etc,
PAT CAHILL, Terenure, Dublin 12.