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Ireland consumes 31% less alcohol since 2001
Alcohol consumption in Ireland has fallen by nearly a third since 2001, according to a new report.
A new report, commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), found that the average amount of alcohol consumed by adults in the country had fallen by 31% since 2001.
In 2023, 9.96 litres of pure alcohol were consumed per person in Ireland, compared to 10.109 in 2022 – a decrease of 1.5%.
However, total consumption rose by 0.9% in 2023 in parallel with a 2.4% rise in the adult population over the year-long period, the report noted.
Beer remains the country’s most popular drink, representing 42.9% of alcohol consumption in 2023. It was a small drop on 2022 when beer consumption stood at 43.5%.
Wine is the second most-consumed drink with 28.3% of total alcohol consumption last year – an uptick of 1.6% on the previous year (26.7% share).
Spirits held the third spot as the category took a share of 22.6% of last year’s alcohol consumption levels, however it was down by 0.6% (23.2% share in 2022).
Cider accounted for 6.2% of total consumption in 2023, down by 0.4% on the previous year (6.6% share).
A DIGI spokesperson said: “Alcohol consumption has seen a significant decrease of 31% since its peak in 2001 and the downward trend has continued year-on-year with a decrease of 1.5% in 2023 on 2022 figures.
“Overall, the long-term decline in alcohol consumption over the past two decades indicates that Irish adults are enjoying beer, wine and spirits more moderately. We are not just consuming less alcohol, we are consuming differently with the rise in low- or zero-alcohol product consumption evident.”
The DIGI is calling for a 15% reduction on alcohol tax in the next budget (1 October), after it was found to be the second-highest rate in the European Union.
Ireland has the third-highest excise tax for spirits in the EU, after Finland and Sweden.
Domestically, volume sales of Irish spirits dipped by 1.4% last year, but it was an increase of 8.4% compared with 2019.
Vodka remains the country’s most popular spirit (30% share of total spirits in 2023), despite a small decline of 1.2%.
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