Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) notes with concern the continuing tragic rise in road fatalities this year. AAI agrees with Taoiseach Simon Harris’ recent statement that Ireland is at a ‘critical juncture’ in the fight to save lives on our roads, and that ‘we must take steps to reverse the trend and prevent more lives being lost.’ As such, AAI believes that all measures proven to reduce road deaths must be considered, one of which is to reduce drink driving by increasing alcohol pricing. 

 In its pre-Budget 2025 submission, AAI is calling for a 15% increase in excise duty on alcohol and that going forward it should be automatically linked to inflation. One likely outcome of an increase in alcohol prices is a reduction in road deaths. Across the EU, it has been shown that a 10% increase in the price of alcohol leads to a 7% reduction in road deaths – for 2023 that’s 13 people who might still be alive today....