Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, has today published its pre-Budget 2027 submission that calls on government to take a public health approach to alcohol taxation and increase excise duties by at least 15%.

Excise duties serve a dual purpose of raising funds for the state which can go some way to covering the cost of alcohol harms, while also influencing price-sensitive behaviours such as consumption. Reducing consumption is key to reducing a multitude of harms from alcohol, which in turn saves the state money.

AAI CEO Dr Sheila Giulheany said: “There is a strong public health argument for increasing alcohol excise duties, which haven’t been touched since 2014, so their public health benefit has been eroded by inflation and is now at least 15% lower in real terms. Indeed, the amount of excise duty as a proportion of total tax take has decreased from 2.8% of net receipts in 2014 to 1.17% in 2025.

“Alcohol carries a significant financial burden to the state in terms of health care, criminal justice and loss of workplace productivity. The World Health Organisation (WHO) conservatively estimates these costs in the region of 2.5% of GDP – for Ireland that’s around €14 billion annually. Alcohol duties only bring in a small fraction of the costs at just €1.2 billion annually.

“Lithuania is a great example of what can be achieved by increasing excise duties. In 2017 Lithuania increased its alcohol taxation by 112% for beer, 111% for wine, and 23% for spirits. In the first year, tax revenue increased by 20%, productivity losses decreased by 7%, healthcare costs decreased by 5% and there was a marked reduction in premature mortality in all alcohol-attributable causes of death. The Lithuanian experience has shown that increasing alcohol taxes creates a virtuous circle that saves both lives and money.

“Increasing excise duties would also help to reduce other alcohol-related harms such as road deaths. Research across the EU indicates that a 10% increase in alcohol prices is associated with a 7% reduction in road deaths. For Ireland in 2025 that would be 13 people still alive. Every Budget that doesn’t include an increase in excise duties is a missed opportunity to reduce deaths on Irish roads.

“Affordability of alcohol is a key driver of alcohol harm. Research shows that shop-bought alcohol today is around the same price that it was 20 years ago. Taking inflation into account, as of 2024 off-trade alcohol in Ireland is 85% more affordable than in 2003, while even alcohol bought in the on-trade is 24% more affordable than it was two decades ago.

“Internationally, WHO data shows that it costs 0.21% of an average person’s income to purchase 40 litres of beer in Ireland, and 0.14% to purchase 5 litres of spirits, which is more affordable than in countries such as Italy, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Poland, and Britain, amongst others. Believe it or not, beer is more affordable in Ireland than in Germany and spirits are more affordable than in Spain.

“One of the main areas of concern is the increase in young people’s drinking. We now have a situation where youth drinking (15-24) in Ireland has surged from 66% to 78% in the last decade, and when drinking is initiated, it is accompanied by high levels of particularly risky and hazardous consumption – 64% regularly binge drink and more than one in three young drinkers has an Alcohol Use Disorder. In fact, Ireland has the second highest level of binge drinking across the OECD. Alcohol remains a serious public health concern in Ireland.”

Beyond alcohol duties there is also a need to consider other ways to ensure that the alcohol industry pays for the harm caused by its products. AAI is calling on government to:  

1. develop a new ‘polluter pays’ alcohol levy system, with funding raised to be ringfenced for alcohol harm reduction strategies.
2. introduce a mechanism for automatic uprating of Minimum Unit Pricing in line with inflation otherwise it will lose its public health value.
3. advertising or marketing of alcohol should not be provided with tax relief.
4. provide funding to the HSE to develop its own trauma-informed treatment services, as well as funding Alcohol Care Teams within all major hospitals.
5. provide dedicated funding to give the national Hidden Harm framework – that recognises the adverse childhood experience of growing up with parental problem substance use – momentum and urgency.
6. provide immediate top-up funding for youth mental health services and initiatives.

Dr Gilheany continued: “A recent study found that alcohol and tobacco are two of the four commodities, alongside fossil fuels and junk food, that are responsible for more than half of all deaths in Ireland. Yet while alcohol excise duties have not increased since 2014, during that same period tobacco duties have consistently risen each year in line with public health interests. The positive impact of this government policy is clear from the reduction in smoking across the population. The comparison with tobacco is particularly striking given that alcohol is estimated to cost the state almost twice as much as tobacco.

“Alcohol is Ireland’s cheapest and most widely available drug. The harm from alcohol permeates all areas of society and places a huge burden on government finances – from the justice system through health, workplace productivity and children and family impacts. The billions-of-euros tab is being picked up by the Irish taxpayer while the alcohol industry continues to make massive profits for its shareholders.

“This is totally unfair and unjustified. It’s about time that government put public health before private wealth and increase excise duties by at least 15% in Budget 2027 and, on an ongoing basis, link their levels automatically to the Consumer Price Index. It’s time for government to stop giving the alcohol industry a free pass on the harm its product causes.”