Alcohol Action Ireland, the national independent advocate for reducing alcohol harm, notes the Revenue’s provisional alcohol duty clearances and receipts for 2021, which indicates a 4.7% reduction in overall alcohol use for the full year 2021 compared to 2020.
This provisional data demonstrates that despite the impact of COVID restrictions, alcohol sales remained quite buoyant, particularly from the retail sector where alcohol was exceptionally affordable.
The latest data suggests a possible readjustment in alcohol patterns, and that potentially, after a decade of awareness raising of the harm from alcohol and the early impact of some provisions of the Public Health Alcohol Act, 2018, Ireland is beginning to recalibrate its alcohol use.
With 2022 being the first year of full operation for a number of measures but specifically minimum unit pricing, AAI is hopeful of steady progress to obtaining public health alcohol objectives. Implementation and commencement of the outstanding measures from the Act would greatly assist this process too.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
Full data available at:
https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/statistics/excise/quarterly-alcohol-breakdown.pdf
