On Raising the Legal Drinking Age in Ireland

A lot of conversations this weekend about raising the legal age to drink in Ireland from 18 to 21. Will this help curb our drinking culture? I don't think so.
I'm not necessarily against legislation designed for social engineering (i.e. to change people's habits). Less smoking is not a bad thing. Less plastic bag waste, ditto.
However, I'm not convinced raising the legal age at which one may drink to 21 will change people's habits.
Why not? Well, for a number of reasons. First, there's "Drinking at home". You can stop someone buying drink for themselves until their 21, but you can't stop their parents giving them alcohol. From my experience, many people I know were allowed a glass of wine at 16, a beer at 17. There was a sense of maturity and 'coming of age' about it all. Sometimes, you got drunk, and sometimes even vomited. But, all at home where you were safe and sound. With the decline in pub numbers already quite obvious, increasing the age at which people can drink will simply increase the time people spend drinking at home, with their parents - or indeed their friends.
Then, you have the opposite of this. The "Cider Binge". This kind of drinking often occurs around the same time. There is less parental guidance, and more drunkenness and vomiting.
This period is usually over at 17 (at the latest). Raising the legal limit for drinking will also extend this period.
Also, there's the question of "Delayed Rebellion". Anecdotally, I've heard a huge dearth of stories about people who didn't really get into drinking until later in life, and ended up going completely off the rails. Some people (with no scientific backing, but with some weight of experience), claim that those who start drinking later, end up drinking longer. And often to the excess that crashes lives. There is some sense in this - think of being 16, 17 or 18 and being able to drink yourself into oblivion. Next day, you feel rotten to the core. Your head hurts, belly is contracting and there's an overheated chill running up and down your flesh. You'll never drink again. You do this six or seven times over three to four years, and soon you start to figure out your limit. Soon, you start to get sick of missing the 'day after' because you're creased into a couch. Soon, you start to get sick of missing the night itself, because everything after 9.30 is a complete blank. Sometimes you go through periods of feeling guilt for not being able to remember - because you've no idea how badly you lost control. At 16, 17 or 18, this is (roughly) harmless. It's the kind of thing that's been done for generations. It's also something you grow out of. And growing out of it takes time and experience.
Then, there's the simple question of being a "Culture that respects inebriation". No matter what anyone says, the Irish love a few drinks. And I for one, am completely behind this. Yes, alcohol can destroy lives, but it can also be the source of great fun, loosening up that builds bridges. Homer Simpson said it best when he raised a toast to alcohol: "Cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!" The Irish like to be 'affected'. Be it by communion wine, pints, shots, glasses, pills, powders, sprays... Raising the legal age at which one can buy alcohol may - if it's enforced stringently - push people toward other methods of inebriation. Coke and smoke being top of the list here. But, maybe you can get people back into sniffing glue or inhaling deodorants. I'd love to read the book about professionals and middle classes, piling into office block cubicles to "Spray up" - Professionals Perfumed: Inhaling An Escape.
All in all, it seems to me that raising the legal age at which one can drink is a mis-placement of effort. What needs to be done is to encourage a more responsible approach to drinking and inebriation. The first thing that probably needs to be tackled is the "I've had seven pints, and I'm not affected at all!" attitude. This not only adds to public disorder, but also drink driving ('Sure, I'm fine! I'll chance it!). We need to learn how to know when we're drunk, when we need to start taking it easy, and when we need to stop.