Covid fails to break Irish drinkers’ f low
SIGNIFICANTLY higher levels of alcohol have been pouring into homes throughout the country during the pandemic, Alcohol Action Ireland has claimed.
It cited the latest figures from the Revenue, which show that despite pubs and bars being closed for many months, drink sales experienced only a modest overall reduction.
This indicates that Ireland’s alcohol users substituted most of their drinking from regulated licensed premises to a largely unregulated, ‘free-flowing’ consumption in the home environment.
The lobby group said the provisional data showed that beer retained 87% of its market, spirits held firm with a modest 0.005% growth, wine surged with a 10.4% growth and cider retained 93% of its sales – all despite pubs and clubs being closed.
Eunan McKinney, head of communications at Alcohol Action, said that during the most restrictive period of the Covid lockdown, Ireland’s alcohol users continued to purchase 93% of their regular consumption.
He said: ‘While this data on alcohol receipts is provisional, it does, however, confirm precisely what has been our concern – that people are drinking a great deal more at home now.’ Mr McKinney warned that people could find their temporary lifestyle changes become permanent habits. The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), however, described the 7% drop in overall consumption as a ‘sharp decline’. It said the second quarter figures, comparing April, May and June with the same time last year, showed the scale of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the drinks and hospitality sector. Rosemary Garth, chair of the DIGI, said: ‘The alcohol clearance figures released by the Revenue Commissioners confirm the dramatic impact the pandemic has had on the hospitality sector.’ Ms Garth added: ‘For the 210,000 people who depend on pubs, hotels, restaurants and manufacturers for their livelihoods, the implication is stark.’
She said that as things stand now, over half of the country’s pubs remain closed. Those which have reopened have only half as many customers as they did pre-Covid.
‘Even if guidelines change, we anticipate the second half of the year will see a reduction in sales by as much as 50% in the sector. We estimate that over 20,000 jobs are vulnerable,’ she said.
Ms Garth said the July stimulus package was a start, but that it would be ‘a long road back’ for the hospitality sector.
‘We need to think and act fast, not least on measures like taxation which can have an immediate impact,’ she said.
Ms Garth continued: ‘Reducing excessively high excises taxes on alcohol is one such measure, and October’s Budget is the time for such a reduction.
‘We need to recover and protect these community businesses who are up against it for the long term.’