Children are spiking their minerals with alcohol before they go to school, an Oireachtas sub-committee on the misuse of alcohol heard yesterday.
Father Micheál Mac Gréil, chairman of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association (PTAA), told the health sub-committee that he had heard anecdotal evidence of this practice.
Mr Padraic Naughton, PTAA chief executive, said the association was particularly worried about the easy availability of alcohol in shops and filling stations.
Young people often manned the shops at filling stations and this made it easier for underage drinkers to buy alcohol.
If children were binge-drinking at the age of 12, what would they be doing at the age of 20? Mr Naughton asked.
Father Mac Gréil questioned the links between sports sponsorship and alcohol firms. These firms should sponsor sporting activities anonymously, he said.
