The Labour Party has today accused the Government of not doing enough to deal effectively with the issue of alcohol abuse in Ireland.
Among the proposals contained in a new policy document on the issue, Labour suggests a ban on advertising linking alcohol to young people and sports, a special Government levy on the profits of the drinks industry and health warnings on alcohol products.
They also called for a single statute to replace the numerous pieces of legislation currently covering the liquor trade. They say Section 17 of the Intoxication Liquor Act (2000) should be used to allow greater traceability of where alcohol is sold to minors and require the supplier to be identifiable when alcohol is sold for consumption off the premises.
They called for a lowering of the blood alcohol limit for fully licenced drivers from 80mg per ml to 50 mg per ml, and to zero for provisional drivers along with random breath testing of drivers.
The party's Justice spokesman, Mr Joe Costello, said the "damaging" and "dangerous" problem of alcohol abuse had "increased dramatically" in recent years with "worrying" consequences, including the increase in alcohol-related public order offences.
He said Garda enforcement of alcohol-consumption laws "has been notoriously haphazard, particularly in relation to underage drinking".
Labour was committed to promoting the replacement of the tolerance of excessive consumption of alcohol with a "culture of responsibility", Mr Costello added.
"We believe that this can best be achieved by introducing a series of new measures and by enforcing existing laws. The breweries and distilleries, the publicans and the off-sale licensees, the Gardaí and the Government, andfinally the consumers of alcohol - adults, young people and their parents - must all be persuaded and directed to subscribe to this new culture of responsibility," he said.