Ireland: Consumption of all types of alcohol falls between January and March

The amount of alcohol consumed in Ireland in the first quarter of this year was down substantially on the same period in 2020, the Irish Examiner reported on May 26.

The consumption of all types of alcohol - beer, cider, wine and spirits - fell between January and March 2021, according to the latest Revenue figures.

The 19.7% decline in the consumption of alcohol has been attributed to the closure of the hospitality sector due to Covid-19.

Despite commentary to the contrary, the Director of Drinks Ireland, Patricia Callan, said alcohol consumption continues to decline as a direct result of the pandemic.

"While this decline was accelerated by Covid, it should be noted that it is in line with the trend of consumption falling generally in Ireland over the past 30 years," said Ms Callan.

Average alcohol consumption in 2020 declined by 6.6% to its lowest level in 30 years and almost 30% lower than the peak of 2001.

New Revenue Clearance data shows beer and cider were hit hard with sales down by 34.5% and 15.9% respectively.

With 60% of beer sales and 45% of cider sales typically in pubs, restaurants and hotels, this decline is unsurprising.

Irish pubs closed their doors for the first time in the middle of March 2020 so the new data reflects the decline in sales due to the fact that pubs and restaurants remained closed in the first quarter of this year.

Figures show that spirits sales fell by 8.2% and wine sales were down by 3.4%.