The representative body for the drinks industry in Ireland has claimed a drop of nearly 7 per cent in the amount of alcohol being consumed by adults in Ireland since 2001.
Research published by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) today claims a 6.7% decline in the amount of alcohol consumed per adult in Ireland between 2001 and 2006.
According to the research, the 14.45 litres of alcohol consumed per adults in 2001 has fallen to 13.48 litres in 2007. DIGI Chairman Michael Patten claimed that the figures highlighted that the assumption of increasing consumption was outdated.
"Much of the debate is still dominated by what happened in the 1990's when consumption was rising. However consumption peaked at the start of this decade and we've seen a pattern of slowly declining consumption per adult since then. I believe that one of the factors is that the very high proportion of "young adults" is now maturing and as they get older they will typically consume less alcohol than they did previously."
Mr Patten said that DIGI recognised that there are serious issues with the misuse of alcohol amongst sections of the population in Ireland. While insisting the industry was committed to working with policymakers to address these problem areas, he said it was not "fair or wise to demonise the majority of people who enjoy a drink responsibly simply because of problems caused by a minority."
Mr Patten said the industry was engaged with the Social Partners on a variety of issues including labelling, alcohol in the workplace and the introduction of a code of best practice for the off-trade.