Alcohol Action Ireland press release, Monday 21 July 2025
Alcohol Action Ireland welcomes the publication of the independent evaluation of the National Drugs Strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, 2017-2025.
Data included in the report shows that alcohol remains Ireland’s largest drug problem by far. 73% of the population currently consume alcohol compared with 7.3% using any illegal drugs. While there has been some reduction in the level of alcohol use by children, the report also points to high levels of hazardous and binge drinking by international standards particularly among men. The report also notes the high level of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the population with 20% of drinkers having an AUD – approximately 600,000 people in Ireland.
Despite these worrying figures, the report points to stakeholder concerns about a lack of clarity and strategic direction regarding alcohol and there are clear recommendations to address this by strengthening the integration of alcohol within the upcoming new strategy.
Commenting on the report, AAI’s CEO, Dr Sheila Gilheany said:
‘Alcohol is Ireland’s largest drug problem with health impacts on individuals including cancer, heart disease and liver disease as well serious mental problems such as depression, anxiety, addiction and tragically also suicide. There are also many issues for families, particularly for the hundreds of thousands of children growing up with alcohol harm in the home – a trauma which can last a lifetime. Alcohol also places a heavy burden on the State with costs of at least €12 billion annually arising from health, justice and loss of workplace productivity. Despite these well recognised issues, alcohol policy in Ireland remains disjointed and often contradictory with some government departments seeking to enhance alcohol consumption through supports for the alcohol industry and pushing back against the well-evidenced measures from the Department of Health.
Never has this been clearer than in the past few weeks with some cabinet ministers putting extreme pressure on the Minister for Health to delay the long-planned for introduction of alcohol health information labelling, often using spurious arguments from the alcohol industry while pointing to the modest improvements in some aspects of alcohol consumption as a reason to abandon the well-evidenced policies rather than strengthening these policies. Abandoning labelling at this point would be particularly shocking and foolish, given the labels are already appearing on multiple products in shops across Ireland. Multiple health organisations, clinicians and advocates across Ireland and internationally have contacted the Minister and the Taoiseach in recent weeks to express their alarm at any such derailment of what is long settled policy’.
The report also details serious issues around illegal drug use. It should be noted that alcohol is frequently used in conjunction with illegal drugs and there is certainly no evidence that people in Ireland are substituting cocaine for alcohol as has been claimed recently in some media reports.
The Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey found that 85% of lifetime users of cocaine also used alcohol on the occasion of first use. This is reinforced by more recent work from the Health Research Board which shows that in 2024 the most common additional drug alongside powder cocaine was alcohol (63.9%). This tallies with international research which indicates that that 60–85% of problematic users of cocaine are also concurrent problematic users of alcohol, and that simultaneous consumption is common. Indeed, further research shows that a diagnosis of alcohol dependence may be made in 50%-90% of cocaine-dependent subjects.
Dr Gilheany continued:
‘Alcohol, in particular, can often be a driver for illegal drug use particularly cocaine. It makes sense to address all drug use in Ireland and to recognise the scale of the issues.
Alcohol Action Ireland is calling on the Minister for Health to show leadership and take seriously the need to address alcohol consumption which costs her department at least 11% of the health care budget. As a bare minimum, she must ensure current legislation including the provision of labelling is fully implemented and enforced. There is also a clear need for a new vision around alcohol including setting targets for alcohol consumption reduction to within the HSE lower-risk drinking guidelines, an integrated approach to alcohol across government and the provision of trauma-informed services for all harmed by alcohol, particularly children.
AAI recommends the establishment of an Alcohol Office to ensure the policy development which will finally ensure the government takes a coherent approach to Ireland’s most harmful drug.’
Ends
Notes:
- Detailed information and references to drug use at: https://alcoholireland.ie/irelands-success-in-decreasing-alcohol-consumption-is-not-to-be-sniffed-at-it-has-nothing-to-do-with-cocaine/
- Alcohol Action Ireland submission to Department of Health regarding the development of a new drugs strategy at:
