More than 80 per cent of the public believe the problem of under-age drinking has got worse, according to a survey published yesterday .
Some 55 per cent of the licensed trade share this view.
The year-long study, "Underage Drinking in Ireland: A Study of Bray, A Representative Area", was carried out by Dr Mark Morgan, a social psychologist at St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin.
The Cider Industry Council sponsored this study. The study recommends the abolition of the existing £5 charge for Garda ID cards, and the introduction of a mandatory national age card scheme, which could possibly be linked to the new public services card.
Local authorities should be also obliged to adopt by-laws, which "other than in exceptional cases, make the consumption of alcohol in public places an offence", the study also recommends.
Half of the trade believe young people themselves have responsibility for the problem, compared to one-third of the general population who share this view.
Two-thirds of the trade, and 90 per cent of the general public, believe parents bear responsibility for the problem.
One-third of the trade and two-thirds of the public believe the Garda are responsible.
The general public also believe off-licences, pubs and clubs bear responsibility for the problem.
"The vast majority of the trade (71 per cent) did not regard under-age drinking as a problem for them," the report found.
Almost all the public believe a way to tackle under-age drinking is for licencesd premises to take the problem more seriously.
This is followed by the belief that parents should be more diligent.
Two-thirds of the public say the drinks industry should be more active in warning about dangers.
The extent of drunkenness amongst young people is underestimated by the general public, while the trade has a more accurate perception of the problem, the study found.
