Two further reports charting rising levels of alcohol and drug abuse have been produced for the Government. They make grim and uncomfortable reading but little is likely to happen in the short term. As Cecelia Keaveney, the Fianna Fáil chairwoman of the Oireachtas committee, put it: we are in a national collective state of denial in relation to alcohol abuse. And she wonders whether the consumption of alcohol by teenagers is now regarded as the norm. She should put her mind at rest. It is.
In spite of this distressing state of affairs, the Oireachtas committee does not advocate a ban on alcohol advertising. Instead, it urges that the link between healthy activities and alcohol promotion be broken and suggests that sports organisations should seek sponsorship from outside of the drinks industry. As for illegal recreational drugs, the Government is invited to empower the Criminal Assets Bureau to seize pubs and clubs where drugs are regularly sold. And it proposes an increase in funding for rehabilitation services.
This Government has taken a number of initiatives in response to alcohol abuse. But the steps were reactive, rather than preventive. Random breath-testing was introduced, along with new offences relating to public order and the sale of alcohol to under-aged and intoxicated customers. Special cut-price drink promotions were banned. But, under pressure from the industry, legislation banning the promotion of alcohol in sports involving persons under 18 years of age was shelved. A voluntary advertising code, operated by the industry, replaced it.
Alcohol and recreational drugs cause serious social damage. Deaths on our roads and high suicide rates reflect that reality. In recent years, there has been a fifty per cent increase in alcohol addiction among the under-25s. Ireland heads the European league in terms of alcohol consumption. Binge drinking is on the increase. Recreational drug use follows the same destructive pattern. This is not, however, a problem confined to young people. It crosses all age boundaries. The level of alcohol consumption in sports clubs reflects that. Young people mimic their elders.
Three years ago, a Government taskforce recommended that alcohol promotion be controlled and that national sporting bodies with high levels of youth participation should find alternative sponsorship. At this stage it is clear that advertising self-regulation is not working because of pressure for higher profits. And sports organisations have become even more dependent on alcohol sponsorship.
Life-style changes are needed to counter legal and illegal drug use. Everybody has a role to play. Adults must set a good example. Sporting organisations will have to make hard choices.
The Government should provide special funding if alternative sources of advertising cannot be found. Improved recreational and remedial services for young people are desperately required.