IT’S Wednesday night and we’re around the kitchen table. Unusually for a week night, some friends are over, the craic is good, and the wine is flowing.

The Government is due to sign off on its much-delayed national alcohol strategy next month.

A group representing the drinks industry sought to alter paragraphs and remove figures on alcohol-related rape and domestic violence from a special report shaping Government policy.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) has said that a report released today on how to reduce the alcohol intake in Ireland is "a missed opportunity" to address the issue of alcohol misuse.