Groups representing the country's youth have condemned any moves to restrict the sale of alcohol to people over 21 as a means of combating alcohol misuse.
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has warned that such a move would ignore the broader problems caused by alcohol.
The council said this would ignore the fact that adults are up to four times more likely to commit public order offences while under the influence of alcohol.
The Union of Students is Ireland (USI) echoed the NYCI concerns, claiming that legislation to restrict the sale of alcohol to people over 21 would "scapegoat" and "stereotype" young adults, while failing to address the real issue.
Referring to recent statistics issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Mary Cunningham, director of the NYCI, said: "The proposal of increasing the legal age limit from 18 to 21 for purchasing alcohol along with attributing binge drinking and public order offences to young people ignores the bigger picture.
"These statistics demonstrate that we have a population wide problem with alcohol misuse," she said.
USI President Hamidreza Khodabakhshi said: "While we welcome the Government's apparent commitment to addressing the issue of alcohol misuse, evidence is lacking for this half-baked suggestion.
"Restricting sales in this way would imply that young adults under 21 are somehow more susceptible to alcohol misuse than adults of 21 and over. The evidence overwhelmingly contradicts this."
It emerged this week that proposals to increase the legal age for alcohol consumption from 18 to 21 are to be studied by an alcohol advisory group in a bid to curb binge drinking.
Statistics made available by the CSO - public order-related incidents for 2006 and 2007 - show that adults committed four times more offences in 2007 at 6,904 compared to only 1,457 for those under 18.
This trend is also evident in 2006, with adults amassing 53,591 public order-related offences compared to only 15,356 for young people.
"The issue of alcohol misuse is a societal one that is not just confined to people under the age 18. . . . we need to implement the recommendations of the Strategic Taskforce on Alcohol including regulating availability, controlling the marketing of alcohol products and the development of effective treatment services," Ms Cunningham said.