Ireland now has the second highest rate of binge drinking amongst young people across the OECD.
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) warned that there has been a surge in alcohol consumption amongst those aged 15 to 24 years over the past decade.
A new report found that while drinking amongst young people declined between 2000 and 2015, the past decade has seen a surge in drinking amongst youngsters.
Between 2015 and 2025, alcohol consumption amongst people aged 15 to 24 years has surged by 12pc.
The overall rate of drinking in that age group is now 78pc with alarming consequences.
A study found that 64pc of those who consume alcohol in that age group admitted to binge drinking.
One-in-three young drinkers have been shown to have an Alcohol Use Disorder.
Health campaigners have expressed alarm at how a decline in the young drinking rate should suddenly have reversed and witnessed such a surge in alcohol consumption.
AAI chief executive Dr Sheila Gilheany warned that the latest statistics should serve as “an eye opener” for Irish society.
Youth drinking in Ireland has surged by 3pc in the space of just the past 12 months.
“In recent years a narrative has emerged that youth drinking is perhaps no longer an issue in Ireland,” she said.
“However, this report challenges that myth in no uncertain terms. The fact that there are more than 43,000 young people with alcohol dependence across Ireland should be a wake-up call for the Government to start taking meaningful action to curb youth drinking.
“Alcohol remains Ireland’s largest drug problem both for young people and the wider population with significant health impacts such as rising levels of alcohol-related hospitalisations among young people and tragically half of young driver fatalities have an alcohol component.
“It is the norm in Ireland for underage drinking – with 50,000 children starting to drink annually with consequent impact on their current and future health.”
AAI noted that alcohol marketing in Ireland conservatively involves a spend of €115m annually.
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Public Health Director Prof Bobby Smyth said such high risk drinking brought enormous consequences.
“We have seen some evidence of a slight delay in onset of drinking by Irish children but the pattern of drinking tends to be high risk once drinking does start,” he said.
“There is still a hard core of parents who insist that providing alcohol for their 15-16 year old children is a good idea in spite of the evidence that it is in fact harmful but the number of parents who recognise the folly of this permissive approach is growing.
“The unrelenting exposure of children to alcohol advertising and sponsorship does, though, mean that parents who do the right thing are swimming against a tide of more negative influence.”
Nine of the world’s top ten countries for heaviest drinking are in Europe.
A World Health Organisation report found that Ireland ranked sixth for overall alcohol consumption per adult at 12.7 litres.
Czechia ranked as the top European country for alcohol consumption at 14.3 litres.
The only other countries ahead of Ireland for alcohol consumption per adult were Latvia, Lithuania, Germany and Spain.