Ireland: January-September alcohol consumption down 4.5%, beer alone falls by 14.9%

Despite reports that many people are drinking more due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Revenue has revealed that alcohol consumption in Ireland has fallen 4.5pc from January to September in comparison to last year, the Irish Examiner reported on November 2.

Due to the closure of pubs for various periods of time this year, there has been a decline of alcohol consumption in the Irish public - especially among beer drinkers.

Official Revenue figures that have been released reveals that beer consumption has fallen by 14.9pc as cider dips by 9.6pc from this time last year. The data is compiled from January to September 2020 and is compared to the same period in 2019.

Beer consumption has significantly dipped as the majority of beer is consumed in pubs and licensed premises, according to Revenue.

Cider has also dropped dramatically due to the same reason with spirits also seeing a dip- however, not as drastically at a decrease of 4.4pc between July and September 2020.

The only category that saw an increase was wine, but this did not offset the overall fall in alcohol consumption. Generally, over 80pc of wine is bought in supermarkets and consumed in private premises.

Patricia Callan, Director of Drinks Ireland, has said the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the hospitality industry.

In a statement released on November 2, she said: “The drinks sector and wider hospitality industry have been significantly impacted by Covid-19, which has hit beer and cider sales particularly hard.

“The new Revenue data confirms that alcohol consumption fell between Q1 and Q3 as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, despite some suggestions to the contrary.

“This was as a result of pubs, restaurants and hotels being closed for periods of time, or having to operate when they were open with restrictions in place.”

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