Following the revelation that alcohol related deaths across Northern Ireland have reached the highest on record, Ulster Unionist mental health spokesperson Robbie Butler MLA has said a new approach to tackling the problem is needed.
Robbie Butler said:
“Alcohol abuse and addiction is an issue that touches many thousands of families across Northern Ireland.
“The tragic reality is that whilst these NISRA statistics suggest that there were 303 alcohol related deaths in 2017, in reality the true figure is likely to be much higher. NISRA do not include cases where alcohol was only a contributory factor, such as car accidents caused by drink driving, people sadly taking their own lives or medical conditions such as heart attacks which were brought about as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.
“Treating alcohol related illnesses also costs the local health service approximately a quarter of a billion of pounds each year. For context, that’s larger than the entire annual revenue budget of the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
“Whilst other countries such as Scotland have been able to take real steps to clamp down on excessive drinking, as a result of having no Executive and no prospect of one anytime soon, it would appear inevitable that the problem in Northern Ireland is only destined to get worse.”