A pint of beer purchased in a pub here attracts excise of €0.55, compared to just €0.05 in Spain and Germany.

Beer was the most popular alcohol last year, holding a 42.1% market share, despite experiencing a 2.7% drop in total volume.

It comes after figures indicated that one in four pubs in Ireland have closed in the past 20 years.

Beer was the Ireland’s most popular alcohol last year, followed by wine.

In 2005, there was 8,617 pubs in Ireland with that number now standing at 6,563.

Beer accounts for 42.9 per cent of the alcohol market in Ireland, figures suggest.