Community approach to national problem After four years of research, a booklet aimed at tackling the misuse of alcohol in the community
has been launched by The Tóchar Valley Network NEWS FEATURES
Michael Duffy OUR nation’s well-documented over-indulgence in alcohol has long been linked to a host of social problems, but rather than waiting for Government intervention to tackle the problem, one concerned Mayo community network has decided to put in place a ground-breaking programme which they hope will ultimately address the problem at grassroots level.
The Tóchar Valley Community Group is well known throughout the county for its ground-breaking rural community development and its 18-page document, ‘The Misuse of Alcohol – Your Community’s Opportunity to Respond’, which is four years in the making, was launched by renowned anti-alcohol campaigner, Dr Mick Loftus.
“In my opinion, every community in the county should get a copy of your document and tackle the problem head-on. There is no point in ignoring it – a change in outlook from the bottom up can ultimately make a difference. We have to change the culture of people thinking they cannot enjoy themselves unless they have a drink,” said Dr Loftus to an attentive gathering of the network in Clogher Community Centre.
The process of putting the document together is an intriguing one to say the least, particularly as an internationally-recognised problem-solving model was utilised. Sr Maureen Lally of the network has close ties to many educational institutes in the United States and with the assistance of Michigan State University, facilitators from Tóchar Valley were trained stateside thanks to funding from the Kettering Foundation.
“Our people were sent to Ohio to take part in the National Issues Forum’s Training Programme’ which is organised by the Kettering Foundation in Dayton.
“The process is basically a proactive one based on the principles of ‘Deliberative Democracy’ as put forward by the Kettering Foundation. Deliberative Democracy builds on the capacities of citizens to think, talk and work together in their common interests,” said Sr Maureen.
“It does not provide answers to the issue identified but provides a framework to help people, thoughtfully and carefully, to consider a number of choices to address the identified problem. This is a means for communities to take tough decisions about their basic purpose and the direction they want their community to take in the future. After careful thought, we decided that the misuse of alcohol was a common thread running through all our communities and, after much hard work, the document before you tonight will attempt to address the problem.”
During his address to the gathering, Dr Loftus said it was a privilege for him to perform the launch of such ‘an important and outstanding document’.
“I was reared in a bar in Killala and worked in it for many years but I have been a pioneer all my life – and I am proud to be one. The reason I am proud is I have seen the destructive role alcohol can play in family life down through the years, particularly through my work as a GP and as a coroner. I have seen how people’s lives can be adversely affected through alcohol and its direct link with road traffic accidents and indeed suicide.”
Dr Loftus went on to divulge some statistics which drew noticeable gulps of disbelief from some of those in attendance.
“We now have over 200,000 alcoholics in this country and if each of these affects the lives of four people, that means 800,000 are affected by alcohol problems in this country. Health problems too are of course another huge issue as people with drink problems usually die younger.
“This will always to be the case if we continue to spend €7 billion euro on alcohol every year, which we did last year. That is on average of €3,000 for every individual in the country. We all are amazed when we hear of a drug hauls of over €1 million but we are talking billions here in relation to alcohol, not millions.”
Dr Loftus went on to say that he he saw an article in The Irish Times recently from a 29-year-old who had been drinking for over 14 years but decided to give up altogether as it was ruining his daily life.
“The last line of this article summed up the current state of affairs for me: ‘We are in danger of drinking ourselves into a national stupor’.
“There has been a national outcry in relation to cocaine of late, yet we seem to refuse to want to tackle our overuse of alcohol. Numerous reports have been done over the years by the Government but they only seem to sit on shelves gathering dust. Sales of alcohol were up three per cent last year and people have to realise how powerful the drinking industry actually is.
“They are still allowed to spend €650 million on alcohol promotion in this country, running big glossy adverts encouraging everyone to drink and putting two small words in the corner of advert expecting everyone to ‘drink responsibly’.”
Dr Loftus has tried his best over the last decade to highlight the perceived lack of interest on the Government’s behalf in tackling the problem, so he was delighted to see this community-led initiative blossom.
“It is action from groups like yours that can force governments and politicians to take action and finally deal with this problem. Politicians like to say that ultimately it is up to the individuals themselves but they are the ones allowing a culture to prevail that glamourises alcohol. Other countries have tried to deal with this issue. France introduced the Evin Law in 1991 banning alcohol advertising and it’s still in place, so much so that the Heineken Cup is referred to in the French media as the H Cup. Why are we so averse to taking serious action like this?” he asked
Breege Blake, Treasurer of Tóchar Valley, was one of the those who travelled to America to learn how to both construct and implement the document. She feels that using the document will enable people to build up the courage to tackle the misuse of alcohol head-on.
“A trouble shared is a trouble halved and this book will allow families the chance to step back and assess how best to tackle the problem. We realised that the same problems for many families can be addressed by the same solutions and that’s the aim of the document. It’s all about empowerment and showing families how to deal with the situation they face.”
Officers re-elected at AGM
THE annual general meeting of the Tochar Valley Rural Community Network preceding the launch of the Misuse of Alcohol document and the hard work put in by the officers last year was rewarded with all six officers returned to their positions for another year.
The officers are: Chairperson - Brendan Sammon (pictured); Vice Chairman: Jack Ryan; Secretary: Patricia Jennings; Assistant Secretary: Sheila Gilligan; Treasurer: Breege Blake; PRO: Deirdre Kavanagh.
Chairman of the network, Brendan Sammon, said he was delighted to be returned to the position for another year and he looked forward to delivery of several very important projects during 2008.
Alcohol – The frightening facts 200,000 - The amount of alcoholics in Ireland
€7 billion - The amount spent on alcohol in Ireland last year
13.4 The number of litres of pure alcohol consumed per adult in Ireland in 2003
€650 million The amount spent on alcohol advertising in Ireland last year
