MOST TEENAGERS want the legal drinking age to be reduced from 18 to 16 as part of series of steps to tackle alcohol misuse and promote more responsible drinking.
The views of teenagers are contained in the report of a national consultation project commissioned by the Government, which involved more than 250 young people aged between 12 and 18 drawn from secondary schools and youth clubs across the State.
The four key themes which emerged in the consultations were:
- The provision of youth cafes and other alcohol-free facilities for teenagers.
- Age-appropriate and improved education programmes.
- An updated and effectively enforced ID system for young people.
- A reduction in the legal age for drinking alcohol to 16.
Launching the report yesterday, Minister of State for Children Brendan Smith said he was impressed by the mature and responsible manner in which teenagers participated in the consultations.
While he said some of the report's conclusions were not necessarily shared by his office - such as reducing the drinking age - he urged parents and policymakers to give them full consideration.
On the issue of youth cafes, he said he was in discussion with his Cabinet colleagues regarding a programme of rolling out youth cafes across the State and how such a development could be funded.
He also said he hoped the consultation process would help spread the message that alcohol misuse is a major cause of social and physical harm.
"The report from this consultation convinces me that the participants are aware of the dangers, as indicated by the teenagers' recommendations on improved education programmes, more responsible behaviour by parents and stricter enforcement of the law," Mr Smith said.
Speaking on behalf of the teenagers who attended the consultations, Jennifer Harrington (18) from Finglas, Dublin, said alcohol misuse was not just a young people's problem, but a cultural problem one.
"Parents need to set a good example with their own use of alcohol and take responsibility for knowing the whereabouts of their teenagers," she said.
Niamh Chapman (17) from Sligo said that the vast majority of participants in the consultations believed young people should be allowed to drink limited quantities of low alcohol drinks in pubs from the age of 16.
"There was a strong feeling that preventing people of under 18 from drinking alcohol creates a lot of the buzz around getting drunk, whereas if it was possible to go to the pub and be social, this buzz would be greatly diminished," she said.
"Evidence from countries such as France and Portugal proves that a drinking age of 16 does not have to result in a high rate of binge-drinking."
