Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, notes the recently published Indecon / Drinks Ireland-IBEC report, which has received widespread media coverage. AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “While this industry-funded report boasts that the alcohol drinks sector contributes €1.2 billion in excise duties and €1.4 billion in VAT to the Irish economy, it conveniently fails to account for any of the costs of alcohol to the state, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates at up to 2.5% of GDP – that’s €15 billion for Ireland in terms of health and social care, loss of workplace productivity and justice costs.

“There are also many other costs not included in this estimate such as harms to others and costs associated with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition with multiple impacts on health and education. Ireland has the third highest level of FASD in the world, possibly affecting up to 7.4% of the population. “However, from a public health perspective the most concerning part of this report is buried deep, with it repeating industry’s arguments against Ireland’s world-leading alcohol health information labelling legislation, while calling for the issue to be agreed at EU level...