Alcohol Policy in Ireland has come under criticism from the IMO and many other agencies who claim that the Government does not do enough to limit the damage done to our society by alcohol. The recent budget recommendations to decrease the price of alcohol add fuel to the debate. The Irish Medical Organisation has criticised the Governments budget proposal to reduce excise duty on all types of alcohol. Professor Joe Barry pointed out that the Council of the European Union asked all member States to consider pricing policy when addressing alcohol related harm. This budget, unfortunately, goes in the opposite direction. There is ample evidence of a significant problem developing with regard to the extent of underage drinking in Ireland. The 1999 international ESPAD¹ report (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs) showed that Irish children aged 16 years are among the highest alcohol abusers in Europe in terms of binge drinking and drunkenness. One in three were regular binge drinkers and one in four reported being drunk 10 or more times in the last year. Irish 15 year olds were in joint 3rd place, on a par with The Isle of Man. Only Denmark (60%) and The Netherlands (58%) reported a higher proportion of 15 year old binge drinkers².

A more recent Health Behavior in School Children (HBSC)³ survey reported that in the 15-17 age group, about half of the boys and girls were regular drinkers and drunkenness was also prevalent (60% boys, 56% girls). A report by Dr. Ann Hope (HSE)⁴ on consumption of alcohol between 1986 and 2006 revealed that over that period the sale of alcohol in Ireland has increased in all beverage categories. A recent report by the Office of Tobacco Control (2006)⁵ revealed that Irish 16-17 year olds spend €20.09 per week on alcohol. This amounts to an illegal alcohol market of 145m in this country and as a society we seem to be accepting this as normal⁶. Research over the last decade has also shown that alcohol affects an adolescent brain differently from an adult brain. Damage from alcohol use during adolescence can be long term and irreversible. Therefore, it is critically important to delay the age of onset of drinking by young people, as recommended by the WHO.⁷

The Strategic Taskforce on Alcohol was set up in 2002 to make recommendations on specific, evidence-based measures to government to prevent and reduce alcohol related harm. These have been largely ignored. In June 2004 the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health & Children published a report which made far reaching recommendations. Again, no Government action. Public Health Consultant Dr Joe Barry has said 'It appears the alcohol issue has disappeared off the Government's agenda and the powerful Drinks Industry view holds more sway in Government circles than the Strategic Task Force or the Joint Oireachtas Committee. MEAS (Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society) was established in 2002 to promote social responsibility among producers, marketers, distributors and retailers of alcohol in Ireland in partnership with the government. One of MEAS initiatives was the Responsible Sale of Alcohol programme which helps license holders to develop policies and procedures about the safe serving of alcohol.
MEAS has, however, come in for criticism from the IMO who claim that the globalised alcohol industry is presenting itself as socially responsible through a network of industry controlled 'social aspect' organizations. As they quip 'The Irish organization is called MEAS. In practice, MEAS is about Minimizing Effective Action by the State!'

So what is the government actually doing to help young people who do develop an alcohol-misuse disorder? Healthinfo.ie (a HSE website) has a very practical booklet 'Straight Talking', designed to be a guide to parents in talking to teenagers about their drinking habits. In 2000 the Dept of Education introduced a new syllabus for social, personal and health education to promote health and wellbeing in young people (SPHE support service). The Dept of Education also published Schools Substance Policy Guidelines. In the out-of-school-setting, the Substance Abuse Prevention Programme is implemented in Youthreach and Senior Traveller Training courses as well as in FAS Community Training Workshops. The Drinkaware.ie initiative was launched by MEAS in November 2006. Drinkaware.ie is a consumer focused initiative aimed at promoting the responsible use of alcohol, while at the same time challenging anti-social drinking behavior.  Posters carrying the line 'Know the one that's one too many'. In September 2007, the 'Had Enough' campaign was launched and 'Get the know-how to know when' on the Drinkaware.ie website.

Despite the increased awareness of the problem, there seems to be very little in the way of formal treatment programmes for young people with problem drinking. Barnardos states on its website that alcohol-related offences for 15-17 year olds increased by 135 per cent between 2000 and 2005. The National Recreation Policy for Young People was launched in September 2007.  The Policy is the first comprehensive document about young people's recreational needs and contains 76 actions listed under 7 objectives. The Minister for Children is reportedly in discussions with his Cabinet colleagues regarding the funding for a youth cafe programme. In the current climate of cuts, it is likely that some of these facilities will suffer. The multitude of Government-created bodies are, in my opinion in danger of becoming little more that window-dressing , passing the buck on the issue of underage drinking from one committee to another without effecting any real change. The problem of underage alcohol abuse has been widely acknowledged as an ever increasing problem in our society for over a decade now. A number of excellent reports were commissioned during that period that dealt with the substance of the matter to date none of these have been acted upon. It is vitally important that we keep the pressure on our elected representatives in relation to this issue if we are going to protect the next generation.

A McAuliffe
St Finan's Hospital, Kerry Mental Health Services, Kerry
Email: [email protected]

References
1. Hibell B, Andersson B, Ahlstrom S et al. The 1999 ESPAD Report.“Alcohol and other Drug Use Among Students in 30 European Countries”
2. Thorroddur B et al. The European School Survey project on alcohol and drugs, 2004.
3. “Health Behaviour in School aged children” - A WHO Collaborative Cross        National Service.
4. Hope A. “Alcohol consumption in Ireland 1986 – 2006”. Health Service Executive (HSE)
5. “Children, Youth and Tobacco “. Behaviour, Perceptions and Public attitudes”. Office of Tobacco Control , 2006
6. ‘Alcohol Policy and the public good’ Edwards G., Addiction, Vol 92
7. WHO- Alcohol Advertising Ban and Alcohol Abuse, National Bureau of Economic Research, NBER