Alcoholics Anonymous Reviews

The availability of alcohol on every village street and petrol forecourt is symptomatic of our country's collective drink problem.

But while the sheer accessibility to cheap alcohol is contributing to the binge phenomenon, it is our drink culture and attitude which is proving far more problematic.

Now, the Government, which brought us the liberalisation of drink laws and the three-fold increase in off-licences, is moving to regain control.

But curbing the opening hours, increasing the age limit, sending teenagers into off-licences as part of "sting operations", and imposing minimum price structures will not eradicate the alcohol-fuelled violence and the public order problems which often dominate the Irish drinking scene.

Behaviour

The problem of drinking attitudes in Ireland is best realised when you compare our drinking behaviour to many of our European counterparts.

There, alcohol is much more easily accessible and is considerably cheaper. Yet, the Spanish, Italians and Portuguese are not leading the international scales for drunkenness and excessive alcohol consumption.

The recent establishment of an alcohol advisory group by Justice Minister Brian Lenihan is laudable. It will undoubtedly make noteworthy and commendable recommendations which will be duly considered by government.

But it risks being packed off to the darkened shelves already overburdened with thousands of reports making impassioned pleas for change.

The onus is now on the Government to bring forward imaginative solutions which will address long-held attitudes that are silently eroding community life and creating long-term societal problems.

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