With Ash Wednesday occurring tomorrow, Pádraig Brady, chief executive of the association, said: “Alcohol abuse is having a very serious effect on Irish society.
“Alcohol-related problems such as healthcare, crime, accidents and absenteeism now costs the State €3 billion a year.”
He continued: “This Lent can be a great opportunity for people collectively to support each other and make the effort to either cut back or abstain altogether from alcohol.”
Pioneers, Mr Brady emphasised, “are not anti-drink, but members do take a lifelong pledge not to drink alcohol . . . we want to help create a healthy society, avoiding all the ills that arise from the excessive use and abuse of drink.”
It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 pioneers on the island of Ireland.
Mr Brady’s call has been welcomed by Minister of State for Health and Children Mary Wallace.
“There is a social acceptance of alcohol in our society and I believe that we need to question the signal that this is sending, particularly to our young people.
“There are benefits for society as a whole if everyone tries to reduce their alcohol consumption. It is never too late to start and the onset of the season of Lent provides an ideal starting point,” she said.
Bishop Éamonn Walsh, vice-chair of the Irish Bishops Drugs Initiative, also said in support: “The six weeks of Lent provide a good length of time for people to really make a change for the better in their drinking, if they need to, and that’s much easier to do if you feel you’re not on your own.”
Source: Patsy McGarry, The Irish Times, 24/02/2009
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