THE PROPORTION OF people who have consumed alcohol in the last twelve months has decreased by five percent in the last five years, the Healthy Ireland Survey has found.

Healthy Ireland found there has been a “notable change” in the drinking behaviour of the population as it found just 70% of the population have consumed alcohol in the last twelve months.

The survey, conducted by the government’s health and wellbeing initiative, Healthy Ireland, found that there are decreasing trends in alcohol consumption. 

Alcohol Action Ireland, a group who advocates towards reducing alcohol’s harm, have said the findings show the impact the Public Health Alcohol Act has had, with the improvements showing in how much we drink in Ireland..

The Act, which introduced measures such as minimum alcohol pricing rules, hoped to decrease unhealthy consumption of alcohol among the Irish population.

Results of this survey found that the notable change is most evident in the 25-54 age group, which has seen a twelve-percentage-point decrease over the last five years, with 72% of the age group drinking in the last year.

Three quarters of those aged 15-24 have consumed alcohol within the same period. The  age group were most likely to have consumed alcohol in the last year, compared to any other age group.

Five years ago the age group were one of the least likely to have consumed alcohol. Alcohol Action Ireland labelled this finding as “concerning”.

The group added: “The data in general points to a society that still considers heavy drinking to be a normal activity.”

These types of behaviours can be seen through the binge drinking trends the survey has found, as almost a quarter of the population are considered “binge drinkers”.

Binge drinking, when one consumes six or more standard drinks on a typical drinking occasion, was found to be particularly common among young adults and parents of children under the age of 18.

Over a third of those in aged 15-24 were identified with having binge drinking habits. Almost half of all men aged in this age were identified as binge drinkers while men across all age groups are much more likely than women to binge drink.

While binge drinking trends within the 15-24 age group have increased since 2018, overall, the percentage of those who are identified as binge drinkers has fallen by three percentage points.

When looking at how frequently the population consume alcohol however, the survey shows the 15-24 age group were least likely to drink alcohol “at least once a week”, at 28%.

Overall, the weekly consumption of alcohol has also fallen as only 38% of the population said they drink at least once every week, when compared to 41% in 2018.

Those in the 55-64 remained most likely to consume alcohol at least once every week, with 48% of the cohort saying to do. 

39% of fathers were identified to have binge drinking trends. Healthy Ireland Healthy Ireland

Almost three-quarters (73%) of parents of children under 18 years old drink alcohol, with 39% drinking at least once a week and 21% drinking multiple times per week. Fathers are much more likely to binge drink than mothers.

Alcohol Action Ireland also said these findings were concerning, although overall welcomed the study as it shows improvements in drinking behaviours in Ireland overall.

Other findings

The survey conducted by Healthy Ireland found that 86% of people reported their quality of life as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Similar high levels, 80%, of people reported their health to be good or very good too.

Only 4% of people reported ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ health while 5% reported to have a ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ quality of life.

The level of smokers in the country remains unchanged, with 18% of the population reporting to smoke. Men remain much more likely to smoke than women.

For those aged 15-24, 22% of men and 17% of women are current smokers, with both groups showing a three-point increase from 2022. Smoking rates remain higher for those who are unemployed (40%) than those in employment (17%).

A third of the country are now ex-smokers as, in all age groups over 25, there are more quitters than there are smokers. The average age that smokers tried their first cigarette is 16 years old, while the average age for initiating daily smoking is 18 years old.

The survey reveals that 8% of the population use e-cigarettes, or vapes, while 18% of those aged 15-24 reported to vape. While e-cigarettes can be a valuable quit aid for smokers, the Department of Health said, usage rates have risen from 6% last year.

For the first year, the survey asked participants about drug use. It revealed that 21% of people reported to have taken drugs in their lifetime, with 7% of them reporting they have in the last year.

The most common drug overall was found to be cannabis, with 20.4% reporting to have used the drug in their lifetime. Cocaine ranked second, at 7.7%. This year, cocaine was identified as Ireland’s most common problem drug among those seeking treatment.

The survey found that those aged 15-24 were most likely to report to have used drugs in the last year, with 23% of men in the age group reporting to have the highest level of drug use.

Minister of State for for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Hildegarde Naughton welcomed the publication of the survey today, citing its use as a “key source of information” to supporting health and wellbeing.

Naughton also noted the importance of the drug survey’s findings ahead of the government and Oireachtas’ consideration of the report from the recent Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs.