As part of National Alcohol Awareness Week, which took place from 18–22 March, the Alcohol Forum hosted a conference in the Convention Centre, Dublin, on 20 March entitled The Power of Local Community in Reducing Harmful Drinking. Pat Harvey, Chairman of the Alcohol Forum provided the opening address and outlined the costs associated with alcohol-related harm in Ireland. He spoke about the influence of the alcohol industry, describing it as ‘a “Goliath” in terms of muscle and funds nurturing a society that has alcohol consumption at dangerous and harmful levels’. He called on the government to implement the National Substance Misuse Strategy as a matter of urgency.1
Minister Alex White TD with Alcohol Forum chairman Pat Harvey at the opening of the converence (photo by Conor O'Mearain)
Mr Alex While TD, Minister of State for Primary Care, opened the conference and spoke about the power of community and the need to mobilise communities, schools, sports and law enforcement and to pool resources. He said that the alcohol problem in Ireland was too big and too entrenched to be dealt with on an individual or even a community level and that, despite the arguments being made against every single measure that has been proposed, some form of regulation was necessary. He confirmed that the government was considering the measures contained in the Steering Group report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy and would announce its conclusions and decisions shortly.2
Other speakers included Dr Ann Hope, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin; Dr Walter Kern Scheffeldt, Clinical Psychologist, Zurich University of Teacher Education; Anne Timony, Community Mobilisation Officer with the Alcohol Forum; and Claire Dineen, Chair of the National Forum of the Family Resource Centre Programme. There was also a ‘Soapbox’ session where speakers were given three minutes to present their arguments on how to effect changes. The participants in this session were Fiona Ryan, CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland; John Waters, Irish Times columnist; John Logue, President of the Union of Students in Ireland; Denis Bradley, former Vice Chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board; and Eamon O’Kane, Director of Derry Healthy Cities.
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1. Alcohol Forum (2013, 20 March) Alcohol Forum challenges government, the drinks industry & parents. News item posted on the Alcohol Forum website. Accessed 8 May 2013 at www.alcoholforum.org/index.php/news/103
2. White A (2013, 20 March) The power of local community in reducing harmful drinking. Speech delivered at the opening of Alcohol Forum conference, 20 March 2013, Convention Centre, Dublin. Accessed 8 May 2013 at http://alexwhitetd.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/
