The Coalition Government is preparing to address what has become a chronic alcohol problem in our society. After years of neglect and half-baked measures, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has announced his intention to introduce statutory regulations whereby young people under the ages of 23 or 25 years will be required to carry identity cards before they can be served drink in pubs, restaurants or night clubs.
The onus will be on licensees to prove that those who consume alcohol on their premises are above the legal age of 18 years.
The Government initiative is likely to get a fair wind from the opposition parties. The Fine Gael spokesman on Justice, Mr John Deasy, is already urging his party colleagues to adopt a much stricter approach to the sale of alcohol. Increasing the legal age for consumption to 21 years - as in the United States - is just one of his proposals. And he has suggested that alcohol should be banned from Government functions, as an indication of the seriousness of its intent. Such ideas are unlikely to gain widespread approval. But the need for reform of the licensing laws; the ending of special promotions, the banning of alcohol advertising and the termination of sports sponsorship by drinks companies, is broadly accepted on the opposition benches.
Some years ago, Mr McDowell's predecessor introduced a voluntary identity card system, operated through the Garda Síochána. Resistance from within the drinks trade, together with the minority status of the Government, ensured the scheme lacked a cutting edge. This time, the Minister is expected to receive support from the Liquor Licensing Commission, which is due to report next month on under-aged drinking and on the sale of alcohol by pubs, clubs, supermarkets and other outlets.
Alcohol abuse is a serious and growing problem. It is reflected in weekend binge drinking, in addicted youngsters, in drink driving, late-night street violence and overcrowded accident and emergency hospital units. Between 1989 and 1999, the consumption of alcohol increased by 50 per cent and we have moved to second place in the world rankings.
The Cabinet has yet to approve the initiatives mentioned by Mr McDowell. Only then will legislation be drafted and brought before the Oireachtas. Last spring, a Public Order Bill was introduced by the Coalition Government. It would have allowed the Garda Síochána seek the closure of badly run licensed premises and fast food outlets where they were implicated in persistent late night brawls and drunken hooliganism. The Bill is still being debated in the Dáil. There has been too much delay in responding to a growing social problem. Greater urgency is required.