Has the Minister or the bureau any plans to bring some kind of balance into the over-glamorisation of advertisements for alcoholic drink particularly on television?

I must confess that the only country I visited where there was total prohibition was China and I think they were right.

Does the Minister recommend that system?

I would totally prohibit advertising relating to dangerous substances and indeed drink is dangerous.

The Minister did not think of staying there?

Advertising of alcohol should be prohibited and that should apply to radio, television and national newspapers. But I have no doubt the first to object would be many Opposition Deputies.

I am not suggesting that advertising should be banned but that a balance should be struck.

Unfortunately there is no balance on this issue: you either go the whole hog or you do nothing at all. The pressure on me from the Deputy's constituency in relation to tobacco advertising, from his own area, has been enormous, incessant, not to do what we are doing. But when I see so many young people in our psychiatric hospitals, so many of our young people suffering from occupational absenteeism; when I see the Department of Social Welfare paying out tens of millions of pounds in disability benefit, where it is clearly related to alcoholism, or alcoholic-related claims, then I think we should take action on it. But I shall conclude by saying there is great opposition to that in the country.