I refer to the issue mentioned by Senator Norris. The problem we have with alcohol abuse in this country is due to availability and price. I welcome the proposals signed off by the Government yesterday. I particularly welcome the proposal to make it illegal to sell alcohol at a price below a set minimum price. The minimum unit price will be set a level which evidence shows will reduce the burden of harm from alcohol abuse. I have campaigned heavily for this over the past number of years. The is far reaching legislation and while it has taken a number of years, it is a complex issue. I am delighted that the Government has done something about it and plans to pass the legislation before the summer. It addresses alcohol as a public health measure, which is important, and it deals with all the crucial aspects that must be addressed, including price, availability, information and marketing. It is being addressed as a public health measure for the first time, which makes this a legislative milestone. Many people have a problem with alcohol and it kills three people every week, which is far too many. The facts about our alcohol consumption do not tally with the relationship we think we have with it. I do not say this as a killjoy but as a mother, a concerned member of a community and a public representative. Almost 2.5 million people in Ireland drink, of whom more than half drink harmfully and excessively, that is, 1.24 million. Senator Darragh O'Brien raised problems in our hospitals earlier but every night 2,000 hospital beds are occupied for alcohol-related reasons. I look forward to us debating the legislation soon.

I agree with much of Senator Henry's contribution. While minimum pricing is welcome, it is an awful shame that the House could not support the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Fund Bill 2014. It sought to take advantage of the low prices on alcohol by setting up a fund to ring-fence the money generated from these alcohol sales rather than providing additional profitability to the drinks companies. We estimated approximately €150 million could be raised through such a measure specifically for suicide prevention, which remains a silent crisis in our society with up to 600 people a year needlessly losing their lives. In addition, A Vision for Change, which is in its ninth year, is starved of resources annually and despite the best efforts of the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, it is difficult for service providers to provide adequate resources. The strategy is lagging well behind where it needs to be in terms of its implementation.

It is all well and good for all of us to come into the House in accelerated and personified indignation and call for action on specific issues. The reality is we are not interested in dealing with this issue as a nation, although that might not apply to individual Members. We have again pandered to the drinks companies regarding this legislation. Alcohol prices must be raised and through the measures we suggested in the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Fund Bill 2014, the money generated should be ring-fenced for suicide prevention and mental health services, where it is deserved. I am not a killjoy and I do not oppose drinking but alcohol abuse has gotten out of control in recent years. If the Government does not ring-fence this money for the services I have mentioned, which have been outlined by many Members previously, we will miss a great opportunity to deal with this issue once and for all.