A study into the drinking habits of Irish people has found that as a nation, Ireland is drinking significantly less than a decade ago.

It's no secret that the Irish get a bad wrap for their drinking habits - yet according to new research, it seems like we are stepping away from the bottle.

A report titled The Drinks Market Performance 2017 has found that alcohol consumption is down by 18% over the past ten years. 

The research, carried out by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, also revealed that the level of alcohol consumption has fell by 1.4% per Irish adult.

Irish people are also favoring wines and spirits more than ever - but beer is still the go-to drink. In fact, beer has an astonishing 44.8% share of the market. 

However, spirits now make up for almost a fifth of the alcohol consumed in the country - with a 19.8% share of the market.

That's a whole lot of Uisce Beatha if you ask us...

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The report outlines that the average rate of consumption per Irish adult was a 11.08 liters of pure alcohol (eek!)


Donal O’Keeffe, Secretary of DIGI and CEO of the Licensed Vintners Association, said that the drink's industry is integral to Ireland's economy.

"92,000 people work in the drinks industry alone, and the combined hospitality sector, which includes pubs, hotels, restaurants, breweries, distilleries, retailers, manufacturers and distributors, employs almost 210,000 people across the country. That's 10 percent of all jobs, or €1.25 billion worth of exports a year," he said.