We’re not necessarily the nation of boozers we’re made out to be.
Irish people are drinking a lot less than we did at the height of the Celtic Tiger, according to a report from the World Health Organisation.
How much less? Well, 25% less, to be precise.
Out of the 28 members of the European Union in 2005, Ireland came ninth on the list in terms of alcohol consumption.
According to Tom Lyons in the Sunday Business Post, we now rank in 18th position between Finland and Portugal.
Back in 2005, the WHO claimed that Irish people drank an average of 14.4 litres of alcohol. That fell to an average of 10.9 litres in 2016.
The rate of Ireland’s decline in alcohol consumption is more than twice the EU28 average rate.
In 2016, the people of Lithuania were the heaviest drinkers in Europe on 18.2 litres. The Czech Republic came in second place.
Consumption in the United Kingdom also fell between 2005 and 2016, although at a far slower rate than Ireland’s, from 13.4 litres in 2005 to 12.3 litres in 2016. A drop of eight percent.
