The drinks industry says its figures show that alcohol consumption has been falling since hitting a peak in 2001.
The research, published today from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, shows that the amount of alcohol being consumed per adult in Ireland fell by 6.7% between 2001 and 2006.
The figures were compiled by Anthony Foley of the Business School of Dublin City University and were based on information supplied by Revenue and the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The drinks body says this trend has now around for a number of years, though the decline last year was small at only 0.3%.
