In 2009, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) appointed FGS McClure Watters, in partnership with the York Health Economics Consortium, to undertake a review of the social costs of alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland.

Report structure:
• Section 2 presents an Executive Summary;
• Section 3 reviews relevant literature and other evidence on the impacts of alcohol misuse and any health benefits associated with alcohol;
• Section 4 outlines our approach to sourcing and analysing data for the study;
• Section 5 examines alcohol-related costs within healthcare, including hospital, GP and ambulance services;
• Section 6 addresses alcohol-related costs within social work, including social services for
children and families and the youth justice system;
• Section 7 considers costs falling on the emergency services, in areas such as policing and fire services;
• Section 8 explores the cost burden on criminal justice in relation to courts and prisons;
• Section 9 sets out the wider economic costs linked to alcohol misuse, including reduced productivity, absenteeism from work and premature mortality; and
• Section 10 draws together our work in preceding sections into an overall estimate of the social costs of alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland, including sensitivity analysis where necessary.