Ms Barbara Johnston, of the National Parents Council Post Primary, said the campaign did not target prevailing attitudes among adults regarding underage drinking and so would not work. The poster and radio campaign will target adults who buy alcohol for young people and those who supply it, such as supermarkets, pubs and off-licences.
"Unless you think you're buying it for someone wrong there's no point in it. If you think that it's OK to do it, then this means nothing," she said
Ms Johnston said there was a need to educate adults about the effects their behaviour was having on young people. The parents' council was seeking a meeting with the Minister regarding this, she added.
"We need to educate our generation, we need to educate the generation coming up, we need a huge education programme around the fact that alcohol is a drug."
Figures for the overall alcohol consumption show a 32 per cent increase from 1994 to 2000. Between 1998 and 1999 the sale of spirits increased by one million litres.
Ms Johnston said the council would also inform the Minister of its concerns over the proposed deregulation of alcohol licences. "If a licence costs less you've much less to lose by selling to under-age people," she said.
Dr Declan Bedford, of the Irish Medical Council, said only increasing the price of alcohol and reducing availability would impact on the number of young people drinking.
"Young people aren't going to be listening to radio adverts or looking at posters," he said.
Advertising of alcohol and the promotion of events by drinks companies was also having a big effect on young people's attitudes, Dr Bedford said. "Posters can't compete with that nor can they compete with the budgets at their [the drinks companies] disposal."
Dr Bedford said he would welcome the removal of alcohol from the consumer price index so prices could be increased. While young people have more access to money, increasing alcohol prices sufficiently would act as a deterrent, he said.
The situation was serious given the number of young people taking alcohol, he said. Research shows Irish 15-to 16year-olds rank among the top three nationalities in Europe for binge-drinking and 70 per cent had been drunk in the previous 12 months. More than half of nine-to 11-year-olds had tried alcohol.
The proportion of teenagers drunk three or more times in the previous 30 days when the research was carried out, increased from 15 per cent in 1995 to 24 per cent in 1999.
The National Youth Council said it favoured the targeting of alcohol advertising and promotion. "Advertising has got more subtle and effective. There needs to be more research into the effect this is having on young people," Mr Colm O Mongain of the National Youth Council said.
Ms Julie Cruickshank, co-ordinator of the North Inner City Drugs Task Force, said the posters and radio adverts could be effective in targeting adults. Attractive alternatives to alcohol were needed to stop young people getting involved in alcohol abuse.