Irish people spend more of their income on alcohol than any other country in the European Union, according to a new report carried out by the European Commission.
The 400-page report also states that Ireland also has one highest levels of alcohol consumption and binge drinking in Europe.
Irish households spend three times more on alcohol than housholds in any other EU country. On average €1,675 is spent a year - followed by Denmark which spends €531.
Irish teenagers are also top of the table for binge drinking. According to the survey, 32 per cent of 15-16 year olds had engaged in binge drinking at least three times in the last month.
The Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) criticised these figures. A spokesman for the group said the high level of spending on alcohol can be expalined by the fact that Ireland has the highest levels of taxes on alcohol of any EU country, which was not taken into account by the report.
The group also claimed the report is based on outdated information. "Key arguments are made about spending on alcohol in different coutnries but the research was undertaken seven years ago in 1999. In Ireland consumption levels peaked in 2001 and have been declining pretty much since," the spokesman said.
Alcohol Action Ireland chairwoman Marion Rackard said the report showed that action needed to be taken urgently on alcohol consumption in Ireland. "This report for the first time highlights the impact that alcohol is having not just on drinkers but on those around them," she said.
Europe is the heaviest drinking region in the world, according to the report. It also points to the fact that alcohol is one of the major public health problems in the region and causes 7.4 per cent of all ill-health and early death in the EU.
Alcohol is a key cause of harm to people other than the drinker, the report finds; this includes some 60,000 underweight births, 10,000 "innocent" deaths that occur to bystanders or passengers from drink drivers and the 2,000 murders that occur each year.
The report will inform the European Commission's first strategy on alcohol, due out later this year.