Prevalence of Alcohol Use Among Youth in Ireland According to European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD)

"Four-fifths of the students (80% boys and 81% girls) reported that they had consumed alcohol at some point in their life, and 73% (72% boys and 73% girls) had drunk alcohol in the year prior to the survey. Half (48% boys and 52% girls) had drunk alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey, a decrease of six percentage points since the 2007 survey (56%). Two-fifths (40%) reported having had five or more drinks on a single occasion in the month prior to the survey. Almost one-quarter (23%) reported that they had had one or more episodes of drunkenness in the 30 days prior to the survey, a decrease of three percentage points since the 2007 survey (26%). Nine per cent of the girls and 13% of the boys had had their first episode of drunkenness at or before the age of 13 years. The 2011 European average for alcohol consumption in the last 30 days was 57% (7 percentage points higher than Ireland), while the European average for drunkenness in the last 30 days was 17% (6 percentage points lower than Ireland)."