"Is it little more than a fiction that Parliament and Government are sovereign? [...] Are Governments nowadays to be compared to the totally deaf Beethoven in his later years, just being allowed to go through the motions of conducting the orchestra while the real control is being exercised elsewhere?" That is a quote from T. K. Whitaker from over 30 years ago. I, too, wish him a happy birthday. He has done an excellent job in the public interest and for the State.

Last night Mr. Peter Rice, a psychiatrist from Scotland, addressed the Irish Cancer Society. He is the chairman of the executive committee of the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems. It is telling that this series of talks around the country, hosted by the Irish Cancer Society, is called "Decoding Cancer". A total of 900 incidences of cancer are directly related to alcohol intake and 500 deaths a year are due to alcohol-related cancers. This is important because we will be discussing and I hope passing the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015. Awareness of alcohol as a cancer-causing agent is very low. People are aware of cirrhosis of the liver and so on, but women, in particular, should be aware of the incidence of breast cancer which is rising as the level of alcohol consumption among women is rising. I would like the Leader to support the presentation by the Irish Cancer Society to decode cancer for Members of this House.

In the last Seanad the Seanad Public Consultation Committee produced a comparative report on cancer and the damage caused by alcohol. It was very successful. I can empathise with the Senator’s point of view while being impartial as Cathaoirleach.