Ireland is in denial about the problem of alcoholism and doesn’t “want to do anything about it”, Ciara Kelly has said. 

Research by Maynooth University has found around one million Irish people grew up with someone who had a problem drinking - something that can have a long-term impact on the person’s mental health. 

Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly said there are more alcoholics in Ireland than most people think. 

“I do think that the threshold for problem drinking is much lower than we think," she said. 

“We think people are alcoholics either if they don’t drink at all… or the person who is literally at the bar from 10am to 12 at night and then falls out the door. 

“We might think they’re alcoholics too but everyone else is kind of a grey area and problem drinking is a particularly grey area. 

“One in four of us has grown up in a house [with a problem drinker], that is an enormous number." 

Ciara described this as "traumatic" for children and urged people to consider whether "normal drinking" is in fact harmful. 

When asked by co-presenter Shane Coleman what could be done, Ciara said she did not know. 

“Truthfully, I don’t think we want to do anything about it,” she said.

'We drink to get drunk, that's different to what they do in France." Are we still dealing with the effects of problem drinkers in our society? @NTBreakfast pic.twitter.com/ZDCFuQav6F

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) October 24, 2023

Not just Ireland

Shane said Ireland does have a problem with alcohol but noted that figures suggest it is “not that out of kilter with the rest of Europe” and many countries consume more per head. 

“But we’ve brought in huge numbers of measures,” he said. 

“We’ve brought in minimum pricing, we’ve separated drinks in supermarkets into separate areas.”

Anyone who thinks they might have a problem with alcoholism can call the HSE's confidential helpline on 1800 459 459 from Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 5.30pm.

Main image: Split of people drinking pints and Ciara Kelly.