Media

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Tuesday, 13 July) notes the publication of the Health Research Board’s Bulletin Reporting of the 2014 – 2020 Alcohol Treatment Data.   This data highlights yet again the completely inadequate provision of timely alcohol treatment services in Ireland. On July 1st, the publication of the 2019-20 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey by the Health Research Board, outlined the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the general... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Thursday, 1 July) notes the publication of the 2019-20 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey by the Health Research Board.               The report’s data provides a detailed description of alcohol use in Ireland and the harms associated with alcohol use, an estimation of the prevalence of alcohol use disorder and presents a range of perceptions and attitudes of people towards alcohol and... Full Story

  The provision of national services must be proportionate to the scale of the problem; Ireland has approx 250,000 people who are likely alcohol dependent.   Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Thursday, 10 June) published a new report ‘Alcohol Treatment Services: A snapshot survey. 2021’ which explores some of the prevailing issues related to services in Ireland.   This report presents a synopsis of views sought from service providers who were interviewed over... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, notes the Revenue’s provisional alcohol duty clearances and receipts for Q1 2021, which indicates an 18.7% reduction in overall alcohol use for the first quarter of 2021 viz that of 2020. This reduction in alcohol use by the whole of population, calculated by the clearance of total volume of pure alcohol, may demonstrate that as a population, we have begun to reassess our abnormal and risky drinking levels at... Full Story

Given the likely increase in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), specifically problem parental substance use, during the COVID pandemic, it is vital that mitigation measures are put in place to address issues that have caused young people distress, a paper by Alcohol Action Ireland and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Drug and Alcohol Task Force recommends. The Paper, HIDDEN HARM AND COVID-19: Exploring Impacts and Solutions, outlines the need for policy makers and practitioners to be aware of the alcohol and drug use that young people may have witnessed at home during the restrictions.  ... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, welcomes the government decision today (Tues 4th May) to commence Section 11 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018. The commencement of minimum unit pricing as a public health measure will make a significant contribution to the public policy objective of reducing alcohol harm in Ireland and lowering alcohol use to a 2013 target of 9.1 litres per capita. Minister Donnelly and Minister of State Feighan are to be commended... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Wednesday 28th April) notes the comment from Retail Ireland (IBEC) on the likely commencement by government of Section 11 of the Public Health Alcohol Act - minimum unit pricing for alcohol products. For more than a decade, IBEC – its leadership and its various sectoral representative fronts has opposed every single step by the state to implement meaningful control and regulation on alcohol whether it is price measures,... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Sunday 25th April) notes a media report (Sunday Independent) that the government is to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP) on alcohol products. This measure is an important measure within the Public Health Alcohol Act, which was enacted over 900 days ago by the Oireachtas. The wide availability of cheap, strong alcohol products across Ireland’s supermarkets, convenience stores and corner shops is a major factor in the continued harmful... Full Story

Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Thursday 15th April) notes the publication by the Health Research Board of its ‘HRB Overview, Series 11: Alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and alcohol policy in Ireland’. This publication provides a clear and timely view of Ireland’s continuing troubled engagement with alcohol use, the scale of the harm endured and the immeasurable cost to our economy and society of lost creativity, enterprise and human potential. For over 12 years... Full Story

Alcohol Action, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, today (Monday 15th March) supports the Minister of State, Frank Feighan’s intervention to break the logjam on implementing minimum pricing for alcohol products (MUP), as reported on thetimes.ie   For some time it has become apparent that Ireland could no longer wait on simultaneous action on MUP from Northern Ireland. Now Ireland’s progress towards implementing MUP, coupled with MUP operational in Scotland and Wales’ will hopefully be a catalyst to... Full Story