A new reference book which suggests that the average Irish person spends vastly more on alcohol than other Europeans has been described as "ludicrous" by a senior Irish economist with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
Figures from the same source, which suggests Ireland has the lowest marriage rate in the world, have also been questioned by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The book, Pocket World in Figures 2004, published by the Economist, received widespread coverage this week on Irish radio and television.
Its figures suggested that Ireland had a marriage rate of just over two per 1,000 population in 2002, which would make it by far the lowest marriage rate in Europe. The study also found Britain with 10 marriages per 1,000 population to have the highest.
However, official figures from the CSO, whose figures are used for all international comparisons, suggest there were 20,000 marriages in the State in 2002, a rate of 5.1 per 1,000. This equates with the average EU marriage rate.
Mr Danny McCoy, a senior economist with the ESRI, also described figures comparing alcohol consumption as "ludicrous".
According to the study, $1,335.50 per year is spent on alcoholic drinks for every man, woman and child in Ireland. That figure was more than France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands combined.
According to Mr McCoy, the amount spent on alcohol is calculated differently in Ireland, and this was identified in a 1993 report he co-authored for the ESRI. On the continent, the total spent on alcohol is based on the price the brewer receives for the alcohol, and excludes taxes and retail mark-up. The Irish figure is calculated on the price handed over by consumers.