Sales of alcohol have fallen for the first time in over 10 years, new figures from the Revenue Commissioners show. Overall alcohol sales fell by 6 per cent between 2002 and 2003, with beer and spirits consumption falling most sharply.
Returns show that while Revenue collected €477 million in duty on beer in 2002, returns fell to €455 million last year, a drop of 5 per cent.
Duty on spirits yielded €306 million last year compared with €266 million in 2002. However, given the increase of more than 30 per cent in duty on spirits in the December 2002 budget, the increased yield actually reflects a fall in volume sales of about 20 per cent, said Mr Paddy Jordan, director of the Irish Brewers' Association.
Duty returns on cider and perry fell from €62 million to €61 million, a fall in sales of about 1 per cent. "The only drink we are having a little more of," says Mr Jordan, is wine.
"Sales have been climbing about 8 or 9 per cent every year and last year Revenue collected €167 million in duty on wine ... I suppose we could say we are getting more like the Continentals, though when you consider beer has traditionally accounted for 60 per cent of the alcohol market here, the only way it could go is down, and wine is vice versa."
Between 1989 and 1999 per capita alcohol consumption increased by 41 per cent. Currently beer sales account for 54 per cent of the alcohol market, spirits for 21 per cent, wine for 16 per cent and ciders for 9 per cent. Mr Jordan attributed the fall in sales to the end of the Celtic Tiger and the impact of the drink-driving laws. "There is no doubt that drink-driving laws are having an impact on sales. It is a generational thing and young people just won't drink and drive as readily as their parents would." He said there was also the "beginning of a change" in attitude that was seeing drunkenness in general as less acceptable.
Ms Ann Hope, national alcohol policy adviser with the Department of Health, said the fall was directly attributable to big duty increases, on spirits in particular, introduced in the 2002 Budget. "We recommended a big tax increase in the budget that year on spirits and alcopops. All the research shows that the most effective way of reducing alcohol consumption is to increase taxes. The falling sales of spirits illustrates that."
