Alcohol consumption falls in Ireland, beer holds 42% market share

Report by economist Anthony Foley on behalf of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland shows average alcohol consumption per adult fell by 2.1% last year

Alcohol consumption per capital in Ireland fell by over 2% last year, with beer remaining the most popular choice of consumers, new figures show.

Alcohol consumption per capital in Ireland fell by over 2% last year, with beer remaining the most popular choice of consumers, new figures show.

A report by economist Anthony Foley on behalf of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), shows that average alcohol consumption per adult fell by 2.1% last year to 9.30 litres of pure alcohol (LPA). This marks a drop of more than one third (35.6%) since consumption peaked in 2001.

Beer was the country’s most popular alcohol last year, holding a 42.1% market share, despite experiencing a 2.7% drop in total volume. Beer has seen its market share decline, from 56.6% of total alcohol consumption in 2000.

Wine remained the second most popular drink, increasing its volume by 4.0% to claim a 29.4% market share. Wine’s popularity has more than doubled since 2000, when it held just a 13.2% share.

Spirits saw a minor volume increase of 0.2%, resulting in a 22.4% market share (up slightly from 22.3% the previous year).

Cider volume dipped by 0.2%, maintaining a stable 6.1% market share.

Overall, consumption has dropped by more than one third (35.6%) since the peak of 2001.

“Today’s report demonstrates that Irish people continue to consume alcohol at levels in line with the European average," said secretary of DIGI and CEO of The Licensed Vintners Association, Donall O’Keefe.

DIGI is an umbrella organisation for the wider drinks and hospitality industry in Ireland, with membership including manufacturers, distributors,  pubs, hotels, restaurants, and the off-licence sector). Members include Ibec’s Drinks Ireland; Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI); Licensed Vintners Association (LVA); Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI); Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) and National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA).  

Digi said Irish consumers pay one of the highest rates of excise tax on alcohol in the European Union. "We are urgently calling on Government to introduce an immediate 10% cut in excise tax in order to reduce cost pressures on small hospitality businesses around the country," said Mr O'Keeffe.