There has been much handwringing about the damage caused by the abuse of alcohol in this society. The effects are there for all to see: late night public disorder, violence in hospital A&E units, depression, suicides and absenteeism. But the drinks industry ensured that remedial legislation never reached the statute books. That will change if the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill is enacted later this year.
The Bill has been criticised for being both too harsh and for not being sufficiently robust. It is, in truth, a limited measure that concentrates on below-cost selling of alcohol in supermarket and garage outlets, rather than on culture-related changes that were recommended by expert advisory groups. It is, however, an important first step in public health policy and, as Minister for Health Leo Varadkar observed, the benefits of the legislation can be reviewed in a few years time.
Rising costs have become the focus of resistance, with emphasis being placed on the price of a bottle of wine, rather than a can of beer. In that regard, the Government allowed itself some flexibility by not adopting a fixed charge per gram of alcohol. Depending on public reaction, the charge may vary by 20 per cent or more. That was clever. In addition, the Minister can depend on the traditional off-licence sector for support. For purely commercial reasons, it has campaigned for years against supermarkets and low-cost outlets. Representatives insist that only below-cost alcohol products will be affected and that price inflation will not impinge on average beverages.
Former minister of state Róisín Shorthall criticised the legislation for not going far enough and referred to pressure from the drinks industry. Her experience, while producing an earlier draft of the Bill, would have informed that opinion. Those earlier proposals brought disagreement in Government and stalled legislation. Mr Varadkar appears to have adopted a pragmatic approach and adopted a more limited response to a multi-faceted social problem. Joined-up opposition to below-cost selling by governments here, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland represents a significant achievement.
Many studies on the use of addictive substances, such as tobacco and alcohol, have found that price is an important factor for first-time users. High prices discourage use. But there is more to alcohol abuse than that in Ireland: it is a social/cultural thing where binge drinking and drunkenness are widespread and adults and parents set a poor example for young people. Concerning related issues, an effort to break the toxic link between alcohol advertising and sport foundered on funding issues while extensive controls over advertising were restrained. In spite of these lapses in political nerve, the Bill represents an important advance in health legislation and deserves an early passage through the Oireachtas.