Background

Among schoolchildren and young adults aged 10–24 years, alcohol use was the second leading risk factor attributable to deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally in 2019. Alcohol use is common among adolescents in Ireland. By 17 years of age, four in five adolescents have consumed alcohol, and Irish adolescent girls are ranked third highest (boys fourth highest) for rates of heavy episodic drinking (HED) in a Lancet study examining 195 countries. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 has children at its core, as not only does it aim to reduce population-level alcohol use and related harms, but it also specifically aims to prevent and delay alcohol use among children. This is why Section 14 of the Act prohibits alcohol advertising within 200 metres of the perimeter of schools, playgrounds, and child service locations. However, not included in the legislation is signage or sponsored awnings, partitions, umbrellas, etc. with logos of alcohol products on premises selling alcohol (e.g. shops and pubs, etc.).

The presence of licensed premises in a community (including the school community) normalises alcohol use, and their exposure to schoolchildren in the form of proximity and density has been found to be associated with early alcohol initiation, higher rates of adolescent drinking, truancy, lower academic achievement, and disruptive behaviour in class.

The Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022 proposes to increase alcohol availability in an attempt to revive the night-time economy following the Covid-19 pandemic. Considering this proposed legislation and the alcohol harm paradox ( i.e. those living in more deprived communities are more susceptible to the negative consequences of alcohol use, despite drinking the same or less than those from more affluent areas), this study sought to examine the density and proximity of liquor licences in relation to schools in Ireland. It specifically sought to establish if this differs depending on the level of disadvantage of the school based on DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) status versus non-DEIS school status.

Methods

The addresses of all 3,958 schools, including 966 DEIS primary schools and 235 DEIS secondary schools, and all licensed premises (n=14840) in Ireland were geocoded and analysed using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. The number of licensed premises within 300 metres of each school type was examined. Mann–Whitney U tests, Kruskal–Wallis tests, and Dunn–Bonferroni tests were conducted to specifically examine the significance between DEIS and non-DEIS levels of disadvantage and primary schools compared with secondary schools. 

Results

The mean number of licensed premises within 300 metres of all Irish schools was 2.01: it was 1.75 for non-DEIS schools and 2.61 for DEIS schools. The higher number of licensed premises in close proximity to disadvantaged schools compared with non-disadvantaged schools was statistically significant (p<0.001).

DEIS primary schools were further classified according to their level of disadvantage and the results indicated that those schools classified as the most disadvantaged had a significantly greater number of liquor licences within 300 metres (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in density of licensed premises when comparing disadvantaged secondary schools with non-disadvantaged secondary schools (p=0.705).

Conclusion

This examination of licensed premises and their proximity to schools is the first of its kind in Ireland and is important in light of proposed legislation to increase alcohol availability. The findings from this study indicating higher alcohol availability in areas of deprivation align with those from studies in other jurisdictions. This is also an important factor to consider given that those in more deprived areas are more likely to experience alcohol-related harms. Further research is warranted to understand the drinking behaviours of the schoolchildren attending schools with a higher density of licensed premises within the school’s vicinity.

1    Doyle A, Foley R and Houghton F (2024) A spatial examination of alcohol availability and the level of disadvantage of schools in Ireland. BMC Public Health, 24: 795. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40641/