Friday, January 27, 2012
Alcohol claims the lives of more than 1,300 people each year across Ireland, health chiefs holding a cross-border conference on the problem confirmed.
While the figures relate to deaths caused directly by drink, officials said alcohol has a much wider impact and costs governments in both parts of Ireland billions every year.
Health Ministers Dr James Reilly and Edwin Poots opened the first North-South conference on the issue, with policymakers pledging to work together to tackle the problem.
The Armagh meeting heard 2,000 acute hospital beds are occupied every night in the Republic due to alcohol-related illness, while it costs the south’s healthcare system €1.2bn each year.
Delegates were also told that problem drinking costs the North up to €1.1bn every year, with almost €298m borne by the region’s health sector.
In the North last year, 284 people died directly as a result of alcohol misuse, an increase of around 40% on that recorded in 2001.
And the most recent figures for the Republic showed that 88 people die each month because of alcohol.
Dr Reilly said: "This conference has set the scene for a longer term, all-island collaborative approach for tackling issues relating to alcohol abuse.
"The areas we would like progress on a North-South basis are measures to reduce the availability of cheap alcohol and treatment and rehabilitation of those affected by alcohol misuse.
"Alcohol use and misuse is an area where both jurisdictions can achieve a lot together — especially in dealing with the challenges that alcohol presents for young adults."
He said drink was closely associated with Irish social and cultural life, but he said the costs of its misuse had to be addressed.
Data from the Republic showed that a quarter of deaths among young men is drink-related.
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