Ireland ranks third highest among EU countries in consumption of alcohol, lagging behind Luxembourg and Hungary, according to a new report.
The report, commissioned by the HSE, shows that sales of alcohol have increased in all beverage categories since 1986, though consumption per adult in Ireland has marginally decreased in the past two years, standing at 13.4 litres per adult. The EU average is 10.2 litres per adult.
Commissioned by the HSE's alcohol implementation group, the report examines trends in alcohol consumption from 1986 to 2006, using sales figures supplied by the Revenue Commissioners and population figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Consumption per adult in Ireland had increased by 46 per cent from 1987 to 2001, when it peaked at 14.3 litres. It declined after excise duties on cider and spirits were increased in 2001 and 2002.
The higher duties were largely responsible for the decline in consumption, according to Dr Joe Barry of the HSE.
"The findings show that a raise in excise duty remains an effective measure to reduce alcohol related harm in this country," he said.
"To this end the HSE has recommended a 10 per cent rise in excise duty on alcohol in the forthcoming budget."
The alcohol industry in Ireland has rejected a call for increased taxes, noting that one third of all money consumers spend on alcohol already goes to taxes.
"If alcohol misuse was lessened by raising taxes, we wouldn't have a problem in this country because we already have the highest levels of taxes on alcohol in Europe," said Michael Patten, chairman of Drinks Industry Group Ireland. "The problem of misuse is much more complex than that and we need a more sophisticated response."
Taxation is a "blunt instrument" and higher taxes "will penalise those people who enjoy alcohol responsibly as well as those misusing the product," Mr Patten added.
The report shows Irish adults drink more than those in the Czech Republic, Germany and the UK, who rank just behind Ireland at 13.0, 12.0 and 11.8 litres, respectively.
Changes to beverage preferences over time can also be seen, with the popularity of wine growing from 6 per cent of market share in 1986 to 21 per cent in 2006.
Beer, however, remains the drink of choice at 51 per cent of the market in 2006, down from 69 per cent 20 years ago. Spirits represented 19 per cent of 2006 market share, compared to 23 per cent in 1986.
The shift towards wine consumption comes with its own problems, given that wine is cleverly marketed, quite popular among women and increasingly manufactured in higher strengths, Dr Barry said. Gastroenterologists are seeing more chronic liver disease in young women than ever before, and "it's quite possible Irish women are drinking many of their grams of alcohol in wine," he added.