Shelved plans to ban alcohol sports sponsorship in Ireland are under the spotlight after international research found a significant link between it and increased consumption, including among schoolchildren.

DRINKS giants could be banned from sponsoring sporting contests following rising concern over drinking among the young.

Irish people are spending more of their income on alcohol than any other country in Europe, a shocking study revealed today.

THE Irish are drinking themselves to death in ever greater numbers, according to a European study on liver disease.