John Gormley

The Green Party today published an alcohol position paper, aimed at tackling alcohol related harm in our society. Green Party Chairman and Health spokesperson John Gormley TD said it was necessary to change the way alcohol is marketed and sold in Ireland to address the ongoing problems of alcohol addiction and binge-drinking.

Deputy Gormley said: “Bank Holiday weekends tend to be a time of over-indulgence in alcohol. We are not saying that people should stay away from the pub but we do need to address the ongoing problems that alcohol related harm has on our society. Since 2004, most of the recommendations of the Strategic Task Force on Alcohol have been languishing in the Government’s filing cabinets. They have shelved the Alcohol Products Bill and withdrawn from the Groceries Order, which allows off-licences to sell alcohol at below cost.

“We believe the way alcohol is promoted has a long-lasting effect on the minds of both children and adults, and we propose to introduce strict guidelines on advertising. These include ending alcohol advertising on television and taking it out of the sports playing field.

“The way that alcohol is sold also needs to change. We believe that drinks associated with ‘risky drinking’, such as alcopops should be less accessible to younger people. The Green Party will curb below-cost selling of alcohol.

“The Government promised to introduce a National Recreation Policy by the end of 2006, but so far have failed to do so. The Green Party proposes to substantially increase funding for youth-focused and youth-led recreational activities, so that young people have somewhere to go and something to do, away from alcohol-based activities. Interesting initiatives such as The Gaf in Galway and Elmo’s Attic drop-in centre in Ennis, Co. Clare are already working examples of what can be achieved.

“With road deaths and driver safety an issue that will no doubt arise over the weekend, the Green Party propose to lower the blood alcohol level allowed for fully licensed drivers to 50mg/ml to bring Ireland into line with other European countries. We will reduce alcohol levels for learner drivers to zero, a policy already advocated successfully in countries such as Australia.”

Green Party Justice Spokesperson Ciaran Cuffe TD said: ” Ireland should look to countries such as Italy for ways to tackle binge-drinking. Their rate of binge-drinking is only 2 per cent compared to 34 per cent in Ireland. Most of their bars serve decent food all day, and people tend to eat while drinking.

“In Ireland many of our traditional pubs have been replaced by super-pubs that use all the tricks of the trade to encourage alcohol consumption. They turn up the heat, blast out the music and TV, and remove the seats so as to encourage ‘vertical drinking’. Try looking for food, or even tea or coffee in most Irish pubs after nine o’clock at night. Chances are that you’ll be laughed at, or offered a packet of peanuts. We need to put more emphasis on good food in our pubs, as well as alcohol.

“The doubling or trebling in size of our traditional pubs has also meant that the heritage and intimacy of Ireland ’s tradition pubs has been eclipsed by the rush to sell more alcohol. This isn’t good for tourism, and it isn’t good for our health. In addition, visitors to Ireland can’t understand why children are banned from Public Houses after 9pm. Irish pubs must become more family-friendly and diversify from relying on alcohol sales for their profit margins.

“It’s also time to use proper planning to ensure that residential areas aren’t swamped with bars. We need to get the balance right. That means providing more amenities and youth cafes for young people, and serving food wherever alcohol is available.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 5th, 2007 at 10:30 am and is filed under Health, Press releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.