Members of the Western Health Board are calling for a fine to be imposed on any person admitted to an accident and emergency (A&E) department as a result of over-indulgence in alcohol. The board is also calling on the Minister for Health to introduce a ban on the advertising of alcohol on radio and television, and a ban on the sale of stimulant drinks in Ireland.
Cllr Des Bruen suggested a minimum fine of €100 should be imposed on a person who presented at A&E because of overdrinking. He told a board meeting on Monday that people would dry out quicker if money was taken out of their pocket.
"People who are seriously ill are being kept on trolleys in A&E because of all the services being used by people who are under the influence - self-inflicted. It's time we brought reality to bear by making these people put their hands in their pockets."
Mr Denis Naughton TD proposed a recommendation be sent to the Minister and the Food and Safety Authority to ban stimulant drinks in the EU.
Dr Diarmuid McLoughlin, of the health board, asked why the authorities did not arrest people the following morning after they disrupted an A&E department. It was no wonder doctors and nurses were leaving with what they had to put up with.
Senator Margaret Cox proposed writing to the Minister to call for the banning of all alcohol advertising from the national airwaves and television.
Ms Johanna Downes, a nurse, said there were nine people still in casualty at University College Hospital Galway on Sunday morning who were horrifically drunk, and five of them required plastic surgery for alcohol-related injuries. She wanted to support Ms Cox's proposal for the banning of alcohol advertising.
She said: "Until parents take responsibility this situation will continue. Maybe we should fine the parents of the young people coming in. We had to open a five-day ward to accommodate these people at UCHG on Sunday morning."
The Mayor of Galway, Mr Val Hanley, a local publican, told the meeting that he did not think any publican went out of their way to serve drink to the underaged.
