A Fianna Fáil TD has criticised RTÉ's soap Fair City as irresponsible for portraying girl band members drinking alcopops.
Ms Cecilia Keaveney TD, chairwoman of the Oireachtas Arts Committee, said: "This week I was alarmed to see that members of that 'girl-band' were drinking so-called alcopops in the pub scenes which can only be described as irresponsible glamorisation and serves only to set a bad example, especially in light of the fact that Irish teens drink more than their European counterparts."
Alcopops were at the very centre of the binge-drinking crisis, she said.
Ms Keaveney said she believed they exposed teenagers to hard liquor early in their drinking lives and that Fair City makers had to show some sense of responsibility.
The producers may argue that they were merely reflecting real life, but she said this was not a valid argument. They must lead, not follow, Ms Keaveney stated.
She intended to meet her colleagues on the Oireachtas Health Committee to discuss the issue. She would consider inviting the show's producers to come before the committee to explain "why they feel it necessary to show young people drinking alcopops".
However, the executive producer of Fair City, Mr Niall Mathews, in a statement, said he was disappointed that Ms Keaveney had picked on one isolated incident in Fair City.
"If she was a regular viewer she would know that Fair City deals with a lot of issues concerning young people in a sensitive way. The producers feel very responsible for the way real life is portrayed and for setting an example on how teenagers and young people go through life," he said.
He said the scene portrayed real life and the girls were over- age. Most pub scenes did not feature alcopops.
If Ms Keaveney wished to invite producers to the committee they would have absolutely no problem in going before it to explain the whole process, not only to discuss an isolated scene, he said.
"It is an unfair reflection on Fair City," Mr Mathews said.