Some 11 children were treated for alcohol poisoning in two Dublin hospitals on St Patrick's Day.
Our Lady's hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin treated eight children under 16 for alcohol poisoning on Friday. None were held over night.
A spokeswoman for the hospital said treating this number of children with alcohol poisoning would not be a typical day's work in the hospital.
Temple Street Children's Hospital treated three children for alcohol poisoning and kept one of the young patients overnight. A spokeswoman said that figure was about the same as last year.
Tallaght Children's Hospital was unable to provide details on the number of children who presented with alcohol poisoning.
Dr Joe Barry, a member of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, said the figures showed that the alcohol problem was not being tackled.
He called on the Government to restrict alcohol advertising before 9pm and said young people should be protected from alcohol advertising as much as possible.
The National Youth Council (NYC) said it was "tragic" that young people were engaging in drinking at such a young age. Council spokeswoman Sarah Gahan said this pointed to the need for urgent action. "Time after time we have been calling for action to be taken and nothing is being done. Only when something tragic happens is attention focused on it."
The NYC called on the Government to implement the recommendations made by the taskforce on alcohol. "Reducing the availability of alcohol was a key recommendation and this has been proven to reduce consumption. But instead, more and more alcohol is being made available," Ms Gahan said.
Meanwhile, a Garda spokeswoman said the number of arrests in Dublin on St Patrick's Day appeared to be lower than last year.
