Irish people spend more on alcohol and "binge-drink" more than any other Europeans. Yet more Irish men abstain from alcohol than their counterparts across the EU. These are the key findings in a 400-page report on alcohol published yesterday by the European Commission. Alcohol in Europe shows that Irish people go on drinking binges on average 32 times per year, more than four times as often as Italians.
The report defines binge-drinking as five pints of beer, one bottle of wine or five shots of spirits on a single occasion.
The report also shows young people in the Republic are the biggest bingers on alcohol across the EU.
Almost one-third of 15 to 16-year-old students have binged three or more times in the past 30 days, according to the report, which relies on a wide range of data collected between 1999 and 2005.
Irish households spend three times more than any other Europeans on alcohol. The report notes that they spend on average €1,675 per year on alcohol, compared to €531 by Danish households - the next-highest-listed among the original 15 EU members. Greek households spend just €146 on alcoholic drinks.
The report notes that Ireland has the second-highest tax rate on alcohol in the EU.
Irish people are behind only the Czechs and the Luxembourgers in the volume of alcohol consumed every year. The Irish consume 14 litres (25 pints) of alcohol each on average per year, compared to 16 and 15 litres of alcohol respectively, says the survey.
The report notes that consumption of alcohol in Ireland rose by one-quarter between 1995 and 2000. Beer is the preferred drink, making up just in excess of 60 per cent of total drink consumed. The remainder is split evenly between spirits and wine.
Almost 80 per cent of drink in Ireland is consumed without food. In Italy, just 20 per cent of drink is consumed without food.
However, the report highlights that Ireland also has the highest number of men who abstain from drinking alcohol in the EU. One in 10 Irish men does not drink alcohol, while just more than 20 per cent of women in the Republic abstain.
The Institute of Alcohol Studies prepared the report, which was funded and published by the European Commission.
Overall, it found the EU was the heaviest-drinking region of the world, consuming 11 litres of alcoholic drinks per person on average per year. An estimated 23 million Europeans are dependent on alcohol in any year, leading to a "tangible cost" of €125 billion in 2003. The report calls for more research and action plans to be put in place to fight alcohol abuse.
The drinks industry strongly criticised the report, saying it was "extraordinary" that one of Europe's staunchest critics of alcohol policy, Dr Peter Anderson, had been invited to prepare it for the commission.
It said the report was based on outdated information that bore little relationship with the current market.
"Key arguments are made about spending on alcohol in different countries but the research was undertaken seven years ago, in 1999. In Ireland, consumption levels peaked in 2001 and have been declining pretty much since," it said in a statement. A spokesman for the Drinks Industry Group in Ireland said the report was another attempt by the anti-alcohol lobby to demonise the alcohol industry and pressure policymakers into introducing draconian measures to tackle a serious but limited problem.