The average Irish person consumed the equivalent of 420 pints last year.

New figures published by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland today show the average Irish person aged 15 and over drank nearly 38.5 litres of pure alcohol last year.

That is the equivalent of around 420 pints with an average alcohol content - or around 122 standard bottles of wine.

Irish alcohol consumption has fallen in recent years, with the figures for last year showing a fall of nearly 8% in the amount of alcohol we drink.

The statistics come on the same day as figures from the Health Research Board (HRB).

These show that the average Irish person starts drinking at the age of 16, and that over 40,000 cases were treated for problem alcohol use between 2008 and 2012.

Waterford, Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Wexford saw the largest incidence of treatment for problem alcohol use.