It is appropriate that there are many young people in the Gallery at the moment in light of the issue I am about to raise, namely, a survey on alcohol use in the 18 to 24 year age group published today by Alcohol Action Ireland. This survey has some alarming statistics. One quarter of the respondents reported that they experienced a variety of harm as a result of another person's drinking. The survey found that one in 11 said that a family member had been assaulted by a person under the influence of drink, 45% said they go out of their way to avoid drunk people or places where drinkers were known to hang out, 21% said they were kept awake at night as a result of late night drinking, 18% said they felt unsafe while waiting for public transport and 12% said they were involved in a serious argument.

I ask the Leader to organise a debate at an early stage to discuss alcohol and alcohol abuse. I know this has been raised on a number of occasions. Not alone is there an impact on young people's health, relationships, the cost to the health service-----

There is a motion on the Adjournment on this matter in the name of Senator Clune and I am sure she will give Senator Mullins a minute of her time.

I was not aware of that. I certainly welcome it but we need a full Seanad debate at an early stage. The motion on the Adjournment is one issue but this issue impacts society generally. As a country, we must face up to the serious issues of alcohol and drug abuse. We should devote at least one half day to discuss this major issue, which has been raised over several months by many Senators. It is time we bit the bullet on some of the issues we must confront as a nation.