Drinking trends - Price hikes key to fall-off in pub sales

IRELAND’S emerging culture of stay-at-home drinking can be attributed to a combination of factors, such as the escalating price of alcohol, the smoking ban and tougher drink driving laws.

On the face of it, changing trends in alcohol consumption might not be a bad thing in a nation that has an extremely serious drink problem, including one of the worst binging records of teenagers in Europe.

Anecdotal evidence suggests people are increasingly reluctant to go to the local pub because of the drink driving laws. This is particularly true of rural areas where motorists cannot afford to be put off the road.