HRB National Drugs Library

Background

Alcohol use is responsible for four deaths every day in Ireland and causes many conditions, such as alcohol dependence and alcohol-related liver disease, as well as common health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.1

The Health Research Board (HRB) periodically publishes alcohol overviews to collate information about alcohol use as well as related harms; the most recent of these was published in April 2024.1 The overviews are particularly valuable for policy-makers, those working in public health, students, researchers, service providers, and those advocating for recognition of the harms caused by alcohol. They are published every 3–4 years. Beginning in August 2025, in order to supplement the overviews, statistics from the main sources that inform the overviews will be available on the newly created Alcohol Statistics Dashboard, accessed via the HRB National Drugs Library on its website.

Figure 1: Example of one feature of the Alcohol Statistics Dashboard – per capita alcohol consumption per adult aged 15 years and over, 1993–2023 

Features of the Alcohol Statistics Dashboard

The dashboard allows those who require up-to-date information about alcohol to have easy access to the data (Figure 1). The tables and graphs are updated as new information becomes available, and the data source is provided for further information if required. Statistics available, all specific to Ireland, include per capita alcohol use, drinking patterns, alcohol availability, alcohol-related harms including deaths, hospitalisations, alcohol-related crime; and responses to alcohol use, such as the numbers accessing treatment for alcohol use, and the number of prescriptions dispensed for medications used to treat alcohol use disorders.

The dashboard is particularly useful and informative for those who wish to understand the burden alcohol places on Irish society. It provides the user with a greater understanding of population trends, which in turn can be used to tailor interventions and plan services, as well as monitor the effectiveness and impact of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018. The primary policy objective of this legislation is to reduce population-level alcohol use and related harms.

The Irish Alcohol Statistics Dashboard is available now on the HRB drugs library website
www.drugsandalcohol.ie/alcohol_statistics_dashboard

1    Doyle A, Mongan D and Galvin B (2024) Alcohol: availability, affordability, related harm, and policy in Ireland. HRB Overview Series 13. Dublin: Health Research Board 2024. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40465/