Senator Mary Seery Kearney: Last Friday, Senator Ruane and I had the honour of participating in the launch of a short film called "Turning Down the Volume", which was produced by our respective drugs task forces. Senator Ruane is the chair of the Canal Communities Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force and I am the chair of the D12 Local Drug and Alcohol Task force. First, we must remind ourselves the drug task forces, as we all commonly refer to them, are actually drug and alcohol task forces. We recognise, particularly following the entry into force of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, that alcohol is a problem. It is a drug and it affects communities and people's health. Three people die every day of alcohol-related illnesses in Ireland.

The short film is extraordinary. It has hand-drawn by Sadhbh Lawlor and Gary Gowran. It shows and demonstrates the incredible increase in the supply of alcohol and in the number of outlets supplying it in our respective areas, between the canal communities and Dublin 12. In the period between 1991 and 2018, the number of outlets supplying alcohol increased from 45 outlets to 125 in what is quite a small community. If you live in that area, at any one moment, you are no more than 300 m away from an outlet that will sell you alcohol. For those who are recovering in the community, coping with the aftermath and trying to hold it together, especially in Covid times when it has been especially difficult and stressful, a short walk brings them past probably four outlets that sell alcohol. I wish to bring the film to the attention of Members. It is coming everybody's way. It is going to be used by the drug and alcohol task forces and youth groups throughout the country. It is very powerful and impactful.

I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, on having the courage to bring forward the Commencement matter on the minimum unit pricing of alcohol in January. That will make a huge difference. The figures are such that for every citizen over the age of 15 in this country, 40 bottles of vodka are consumed per year. It is an extraordinary consumption. Indeed, consumption has increased by 425% over a very short period of time. We need to take that very seriously.