Alcohol ‘will contribute greatly to nation’s future health’

ALCOHOL will “contribute greatly” to the future health of the nation, a lobby group representing 6,000 publicans told an Oireachtas committee yesterday.

In an extraordinary submission, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) argued that alcohol - considered by experts to be the most widely abused drug in Ireland - should not be included in the Government’s next national drugs strategy.

“We can conceive of no reason why the question of alcohol should be considered in the context of a strategy to deal with the use and abuse of drugs,” VFI president Seamus O’Donoghue told the cross-party Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.