Letterkenny residents called on to help reduce and prevent alcohol harm

‘In 2021, a quarter of people in Letterkenny reported that someone in their house was a heavy drinker and 19% said someone else’s drinking in their house negatively affected them in the past year’

Residents of Letterkenny are being asked to take part in an online survey as part of a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative designed to reduce and prevent alcohol harm.

In response to the global alcohol consumption epidemic, the WHO launched the SAFER communities initiative in 2018.

In 2024, Letterkenny became one of ten communities in Ireland supported by Alcohol Forum Ireland, Regional and Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces and the Department of Health to become a SAFER site.

The SAFER steering group is chaired by Dr Grainne Ketelaar from the ATU

Through a local SAFER steering group, chaired by Dr Grainne Ketelaar from the ATU, a programme of work is underway designed to reduce and prevent alcohol harm in Letterkenny.

Donegal-based Alcohol Forum Ireland is leading out on the project at a national level.

“Right now, we are asking local people in Letterkenny to take a short online survey,” Paula Leonard, CEO of Alcohol Forum Ireland said.

“It’s completely confidential, takes less than ten minutes and is being led by Trinity College Dublin. It will help us to better understand how alcohol harm is experienced here in Letterkenny.”

Encouraging local people to participate, she highlighted the importance of addressing the issue of alcohol harm in Letterkenny.

"It's been some time, but when we commissioned a Letterkenny survey on alcohol from Ulster University, published in 2021, a quarter of people in Letterkenny reported that someone in their house was a heavy drinker and 19% said someone else’s drinking in their house negatively affected them in the past year. That means that a lot of people in our community are impacted in different ways.

“In our family support locally, we work with children and their parents. We know that children can experience parental addiction as trauma and that the impact can be lifelong. But change is possible. Both within families and at a community level. So please, if you have ten minutes, take the survey and share your thoughts as part of this important piece of research.”