Only €1 million was last year spent on providing alternatives for young people to discourage drinking on the streets, a conference on alcohol in society heard today.
The fifth annual Meas conference in Dublin was told more resources were need for meaningful and concrete actions to prevent drink-related harm.
Peter Cassells, one of the speakers and chairman of the Government's special initiative on alcohol misuse, said local groups had to be supported financially.
"It may take a generation to change but the big thing is we need to help the local groups who are coming together to give them the money," he said.
Youth initiatives have already been set up in Mallow, Co Cork, Galway city, Letterkenny, Co Dublin and parts of Dublin. But Mr Cassells warned: "Government itself won't be able to resolve this problem. It does require major action at a local level by groups coming together to tackle problems."
A report into the effects of alcohol across Europe revealed drink related road accidents cost €10 billion, health €17 billion, absenteeism €9 billion while the crime bill runs to €32 billion.
The extent of alcohol abuse in Ireland was revealed last year in a survey which found 25 per cent of boys and 22 per cent of girls have been drunk at the age of 13 or younger. Binge drinking among adults is still the biggest problem.
Fionnuala Sheehan, chief executive of Meas, the drinks industry body supporting responsible alcohol consumption, called an agreed regulation for both the on-trade and off-trade sectors to ensure a fair playing field.
Robert Madelin, European Commission director general for health and consumer protection called for increased co-operation between EU member states to tackle the issue.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey of attitudes to alcohol almost half those asked said authorities should intervene to protect people from drink related harm. More than 80 per cent want warnings on bottles on the dangers of alcohol including some aimed specifically at pregnant women.