Speaking today (Wednesday) during the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Community Affairs, Fine Gael Cork Senator, Jerry Buttimer, said it is disgraceful that the Government is dragging its feet on a combined Drug and Alcohol Strategy and is showing little or no regard for the health and well being of our citizens in doing so.
"Today during discussions on the National Drugs Strategy, for which Minister Curran is charged with special responsibility, he said the Government has yet to decide on whether or not there will be a single Substance Misuse Strategy, combining drug and alcohol misuse, as recommended by the Committee in its ninth report.
"It is widely understood nowadays that drug and alcohol related issues are extremely closely linked and that for many the primary drug of choice is alcohol. That the Government is faltering on a single Substance Misuse Strategy is mind-boggling beyond belief and indicates how out of touch the Government is regarding the gravity of the situation.
"Few attempts, if any, have been made to stem the tide of increasing alcohol misuse in Ireland and the Government's abject failure to adopt a strategy which deals with alcohol as well as drugs misuse is a bold demonstration of its dismissal of the seriousness of the matter.
"While alcohol consumption among some of our EU counterparts is decreasing year on year, our intake continues to rise. The harm this is causing the many who mistreat the substance, not to mention the pressure alcohol related illnesses are inflicting on our struggling to cope health and hospital services, cannot be overstated.
"The Government cannot continue to ignore the issues alcohol is presenting any longer. In the interest of our nation's health and in developing a positive relationship with alcohol in the future a single drug and alcohol strategy must be adopted without delay."
Date: Tuesday 03 March, 2009.
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