This article is from page 17 of the 2008-04-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
WITH a high-ranking report on how the Irish abuse drink due out today, Clare TD, Timmy Dooley has called for serious measures to curb the cul- ture of alcohol misuse.
Following the recent bank holiday weekends when more than 1,100 ar- rests for drink driving were made na- tionally, Deputy Dooley said serious measures are required to curb the culture of alcohol misuse.
The deputy is calling on the Alcohol Advisory Group (AAG) established by Justice Minister Brian Lenihan, to target alcohol sales in premises other than licences public houses, and to look at the role legislation can play in keeping the number of anti social behaviour offences down.
The AAG comprises high ranking members of the Gardai, the HSE, and academics and was due to report to the Government today.
Deputy Dooley said it is intended that the legislation changes recom- mended by the AAG will be enacted by the Government before the sum- mer recess.
“Clearly we have a problem with our patterns of drinking in this coun- try, and that this problem 1s adding to public disorder.
“While this alcohol culture needs to be tackled at many levels, I believe the Alcohol Advisory Group must start with the issue of alcohol avail- ability and visibility in our commu- nities,’ he said
“Recently published research indi- cates that alcohol consumption in- creased by 17 per cent between 2005 and 2006.
‘Alcohol is available to buy now in Supermarkets, convenience stores, and even petrol stations. We must stop now and look at this seriously to see what legislation must be intro- duced to tighten up the availability of alcohol,” Deputy Dooley said.
“Regulations relating to the sale of alcohol from these outlets need to be tightened up dramatically. If an un- der age person is served alcohol in a pub, there are severe penalties that apply. Penalties as punitive as this must also apply to other outlets in order to safe guard fully against the sale of alcohol to minors,” he said.