The silence around the abuse of alcohol by parents and the negative impact on their children has to stop.
That's the appeal from Alcohol Action Ireland who say 200,000 children in this country are affected by parental problem alcohol use in their lives.
The group say the daily experience of living with problem drinking in the home can cause great trauma for children who are left feeling insecure and anxious in their day-to-day lives.
Alcohol Action Ireland is calling for a national conversation to be had on the matter so the problem can be dealt with in the open anf families offered the appropriate supports.
Dr Sheila Gilheaney of Alcohol Action Ireland told RedFM News that the long term impact on a child can live on right through to adulthood.
"Drinking and alcohol problems in the home can lead to other problems, like domestic violence, sexual abuse.
"There's actually a whole range of other experiences that are linked back to problems with alcohol in the home in the first place.
"We see that continuing throughout a person's life, so it's not just the experience and what happened to them as a child, but the legacy that that actually has for them as an adult."
