Irish Examiner view: Pubs reopening are a reason to celebrate but it’s time to look at alcohol’s downside too

The State has failed to provide adequate services for the vulnerable, including those struggling with alcohol addiction.

While society welcomes the news of the reopening of the hospitality sector and pubs it is balanced by reports that many of us are drinking more since lockdown.

It is uplifting to see the celebratory images of people getting back to some version of normal life all around the country. The sense of relief and joy is palpable as people return to, among other things, outdoor pubs and raise a glass to the easing of restrictions that have had such a devastating effect on vintners.

Photographer Dan Linehan’s front-page photograph in this paper on Tuesday captured the essence of that elation with a wonderful shot of sheep farmer and artist Joe Kelly holding a pint in one hand and a lamb in the other outside Ireland’s highest bar, the Top of Coom in Kilgarvan, Co Kerry.

It is heartening to see that this week’s great reopening of outdoor hospitality, cinemas and gyms passed off without incident following the violent scenes in Dublin’s city centre last week. There was further good news yesterday with the release of figures showing the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has fallen to 59, the lowest in nine months.

With a promising weather forecast this weekend, it looks as if summer is truly here. Despite continuing challenges, it’s a positive outlook after several very difficult months.

There is a downside, though, and one that has been apparent at several stages during lockdown. We are drinking more alcohol. In May, Drink Aware, the Irish charity working to reduce alcohol misuse in Ireland, reported that one in four people were drinking more since the beginning of Covid-19. The main reason was to relax as tensions had increased in almost half (47%) of households.

A Global Drug Survey, published last week, more than doubled that number. It found that some 54% of Irish people said the frequency of their drinking had increased “by some capacity” due to Covid.

It is easy to see why people would increase their alcohol intake during a global pandemic, and there is every reason to suppose consumption will return to healthier levels now. But the pandemic has also reminded us of something else: our ambivalent attitude to alcohol. We too readily hail it as a cure-all social lubricant without taking account of the fact that an estimated three Irish people a day die of alcoholism or alcoholism-related diseases.

This failure to acknowledge the downside of alcohol is not just a public blind spot but a governmental one. An estimated 250,000 people in Ireland have alcohol dependency problems, but only a fraction of those gain access to some form of treatment programme. Those telling statistics, published yesterday by Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), are testament to that.

Earlier this week, the resignation of the chief executive of Matt Talbot Adolescent Services (MTAS), a charity helping teenagers with addiction, was another reminder that the State has failed to provide adequate services for the vulnerable, relying on the voluntary sector instead.

The need for those services could not be clearer. In global surveys, we consistently rank in the top ten for monthly binge drinking and alcohol consumption per capita compared to other OECD countries.

Alcohol Action Ireland seeks to address that by changing the way services are provided. It has also called for a national strategy, setting revised standards and promoting best practice. It is time to listen.