Four people every day lose their lives to Ireland’s most harmful, widely available drug, alcohol, while a quarter of the adult population live with the deeply traumatic legacy of growing up with alcohol harm in the home. Children are bombarded with sophisticated alcohol marketing and 50,000 of them start to drink every year. Alcohol costs the state €12 billion annually but is feted as integral to our society. We need and must change the narrative around this drug and most importantly drastically reduce Ireland’s alcohol consumption levels by at least 40%.

Alcohol Action Ireland is setting out its strategic plan for 2025-2029. We will advocate for government policies which will reduce alcohol consumption and provide services for those harmed by alcohol. We intend to focus on the actions which can bring about a sea-change in how our government and society understands and views alcohol. We aim to dismantle the alcohol industry myths which currently dominate public discourse and policy making. We will show how alcohol is a commercial driver of ill health, poor productivity, carnage on our roads and violence in Ireland while also being a drain on the economy. 

Our key goals in this period are:

• Establishment of a dedicated Government Office to reduce alcohol harms
• Requirement that the alcohol industry should pay for the costs of alcohol harms in Ireland
• Protection of all our children from alcohol harms
• Provision of comprehensive services to address the harms caused by alcohol
• Be the trusted, independent voice of alcohol policy and advocacy in Ireland

Our implementation plan over the next five years is centred around building partnerships to change the alcohol landscape and achieving sustainable funding for our organisation. Together we can move closer to our vision of a society free from alcohol harm.