Alcohol Action Ireland press release, Monday, 19 October 2026
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, will tomorrow (Tuesday, 20 October) appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline alcohol’s role in unprovoked (one-punch) assaults and the proven measures that are available to reduce such incidences.
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “Alcohol, crime and violence have a closely interconnected relationship. Alcohol plays a key role in crimes such as public order offences, domestic violence, assault and murder, as well as rape and sexual assault.
“While alcohol use is neither necessary nor sufficient for violence to occur, many studies have demonstrated significant, and positive, associations between alcohol consumption and rates of criminal violence, and we can say with confidence that more drinking tends to result in more violence, and less drinking tends to result in less violence.
“Indeed, laboratory studies have shown that alcohol increases aggression. For example, alcohol increases the willingness with which individuals will administer electric shocks to others. Such research is important when analysing the nature of unprovoked, one-punch assaults, especially late at night.
“Unfortunately, there is an absence of consistent data collection around such assaults in Ireland. However, Australia has collated excellent systematic data sets over a number of years finding that alcohol is involved in around 80% of such assaults which predominantly involve young men. Interestingly, despite assertions from the alcohol industry that many assaults in Australia were linked to illegal ‘party’ drugs, most cases reviewed involved solely alcohol.
“In this context it is important to consider Ireland’s overall high level of alcohol consumption, rising youth drinking rates up 12% in the past decade and highly concerning levels of heavy episodic drinking, particularly among young men – with two thirds of 15-24-year-olds being classified as hazardous drinkers.”
AAI’s written submission to the Committee sets out the national and international evidence on alcohol use and violence, and key steps to tackling it are outlined, including:
- Set a cap on the maximum density of alcohol outlets in town/city locations.
- Reduce alcohol trading hours including off-license hours.
- Introduce specific education programmes in schools/colleges/youth schemes/workplace/media highlighting risks around alcohol and violence.
Dr Gilheany continued: “Availability of alcohol is one of the main determinants of alcohol use and alcohol-related harm, and the World Health Organization (WHO) identifies restrictions on availability as among the most effective and cost-effective measures to reduce that harm.
“However, in Ireland alcohol is very widely available with three quarters of the population living within 300 metres of an alcohol outlet. Even with the well-flagged recent rural pub closures, Ireland has the third highest level of pubs per capita in the world with one pub for every 684 adults nationally with rural counties having an even greater density – for example there’s a pub for every 330 people in Kerry.
“International and Irish evidence consistently shows that increasing trading hours and density of licensed premises leads to more alcohol-related crime, violence and public disorder, while reducing late-night trading lowers rates of violence. It is of note that after licensing hours in Ireland on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays were extended in 2000, a near 17% increase in alcohol-related crime was recorded.
“More recently, comprehensive Australian research found restrictions on alcohol trading hours to be successful in reducing violence outside pubs and nightclubs by 37%. In Scotland, 38 bars/clubs in Aberdeen had trading hours extended up to 3am leading to an increase of 11% in ambulance call-outs, and 8% in reported crimes.
“Yet, addressing alcohol use remains an underutilised strategy in the violence prevention field; indeed, relatively few prevention efforts intentionally address alcohol use or draw on effective strategies from the alcohol field. This is especially true of unprovoked assaults. However, national and international evidence on alcohol use and violence all points to how action on availability, affordability and advertising can reduce the frequency and severity of violence on our streets and in the home.”
ENDS
