Irish falling out of love with alcohol?

Traditionally, the Irish are renowned as being big drinkers, but figures published by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) would suggest that this is not the case anymore.

Drink sales have dropped by 11 percent last year alone, and the Irish are now drinking less alcohol than they were in 1995. In the last 18 months, 15,000 jobs people have now lost their jobs.

The majority of the jobs lost were in bars, hotels and restaurants. However, many barley farmers have been left with useless crops, as there is less demand for beer production.

Over 1,500 pubs have closed in the last five years and a further 2,000 are expected to close in the next 10 years. Many blame the recession but the smoking ban has also been a blow to pubs annd clubs.

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