Country overview: Ireland
- Situation summary
- Data sheet
- Barometer
Contents
- Drug use among the general population and young people
- Prevention
- Problem drug use
- Treatment demand
- Drug-related infectious diseases
- Drug-related deaths
- Treatment responses
- Harm reduction responses
- Drug markets and drug-related offences
- National drug laws
- National drug strategy
- Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs
- Drug-related research
| Year | Ireland | EU (27 countries) | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2008 | 4 401 335 | 497 455 033 | Eurostat | |
| Population by age classes | 15–24 | 2008 | 14.1 % | 12.6 % 1 | Eurostat |
| 25–49 | 38.9 % | 36.3 % 1 | |||
| 50–64 | 15.5 % | 18.4 % 1 | |||
| GDP per capita in PPS (Purchasing Power Standards) 2 | 2007 | 150.4 | 100 | Eurostat | |
| Total expenditure on social protection (% of GDP) 3 | 2006 | 18.2 % | 26.9 % p | Eurostat | |
| Unemployment rate 4 | 2008 | 6.3 % | 7 % | Eurostat | |
| Unemployment rate of population agends under 25 years | 2008 | 13.6 % | 15.5 % | Eurostat | |
| Prison population rate (per 100 000 of national population) 5 | 2006 | 74.3 | Council of Europe, SPACE 2006.1 | ||
| At risk of poverty rate 6 | 2006 | 18 % | 16 % 7 | SILC, 2007 |
|
p Eurostat provisional value.
1 2007 figures.
2 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of economic activity. It is defined as the value of all goods and services produced less the value of any goods or services used in their creation. The volume index of GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) is expressed in relation to the European Union (EU-27) average set to equal 100. If the index of a country is higher than 100, this country's level of GDP per head is higher than the EU average and vice versa.
3 Expenditure on social protection contains: benefits, which consist of transfers, in cash or in kind to households and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs.
4 Unemployment rates represent unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force. Unemployed persons comprise persons aged 15 to 74 who were: (a) without work during the reference week; (b) currently available for work; (c) actively seeking work.
5 Situation of penal institutions on 1 September, 2006.
6 Share of persons aged 0+ with an equivalent disposable income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold in the current year and in at least two of the preceding three years.
7 EU-25 countries.
Drug use among the general population and young people
The first national survey on drug use among the general population was carried out in Ireland in 2002–03 among persons aged 15–64 years. The results were jointly published by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) and the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit (DAIRU) within the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. This survey was repeated in 2006/7. Compared to 2002/3, the proportion of respondents who reported the use of any illegal drug during their lifetime increased from 18.5 % to 24 % in 2006/7; the proportion of those who reported a use of an illegal drug during the last year increased as well; as regards the use of an illegal drug during the last month, the proportion remained unchanged. The proportion of young adults (15–34 years) who declared using an illegal drug during the last year increased from 10 % to 12.1 %. The proportions reporting cannabis use were similar to the proportions who used any drug.
In 2006–07 lifetime prevalence for cocaine (including crack) and ecstasy increased compared to that reported in 2002–03: cocaine lifetime prevalence was reported at 5.3 %, up from 3.0 %, and ecstasy at 5.4 %, up from 3.7%.
The latest survey among young people on health (including drug-related questions) was conducted in Ireland in 2002 (‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’, HBSC). The representative sample comprised students in the age range 10–17. It included questions on cannabis and solvent use. Among males, 14.2 % reported to have used cannabis at least once in their lives, with a figure of 11.7 % among females (with an overall rate of 13 % for both genders). Lifetime prevalence rates for solvents among males and females were 7.7 % and 4.9 %, respectively (6.3 % overall).
Data based on the ESPAD surveys, regularly conducted since 1999 in Ireland, among 15–16-year olds students revealed that the lifetime prevalence rate of cannabis varied from 32 % in 1999 to 39 % in 2003 and to 20 % in 2007. In 2007, results showed that inhalants lifetime prevalence was reported by 15 % of the students. Lifetime prevalence of ecstasy was reported by 4 % equal proportion to cocaine, amphetamines use was reported by 3 % of the sample as well 3 % reported LSD use and 1 % heroin use. Results indicated 15 % for the last year prevalence of cannabis use (31 % in 2003, 26 % in 1999), 9 % for the last month prevalence of cannabis (17 % in 2003, 15 % in 1999). In addition, the reported lifetime prevalence of cannabis use among males was 23 % and 17 % among females.
Prevention
Universal prevention in Ireland is implemented in three main contexts, namely the school, the family and the community. The national drugs strategy 2001–08 emphasises the importance of implementing substance use policies in schools and to reduce early school leaving. In 2007, the Department of Education and Science found that 95 % of primary schools and 96.3 % of post-secondary schools in LDTF areas reported having a substance use policy in place. Quality standards with practical information on best practice in substance use education in Ireland have been published as a manual. It is based on a substantial review of international research and provides guidelines for the development and enhancement of substance use education in school, youth-work and community-based settings. Selective prevention primarily targets young people at risk in disadvantaged communities and vulnerable families impacted by drug misuse. The overall aim is to attract young people at risk into sports facilities and recreational activities and to to empower individuals and families through face-to-face interventions in the community so that they can resolve their own problems and contribute to greater community cohesion. Mass media campaigns continue to be relevant.
Problem drug use
In 2001, the total number of opiate users was estimated to be 5.7 opiate users per 1 000 population, aged 15–64 (14 452 individuals). The estimated rate for Dublin city and county in 2001 was 15.9 users per 1 000 inhabitants, aged 15–64 (12 456 users). For the rest of Ireland the estimated rate in 2001 was 1.2 users per 1 000 inhabitants, aged 15–64. This study included both injecting and non-injecting opiate users.
The EMCDDA defines problem drug use as intravenous drug use (IDU) or long duration/regular drug use of opiates, cocaine and/or amphetamines. Ecstasy and cannabis are not included in this category.
Treatment demand
Treatment demand data are collected from agencies in Ireland which report to the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS). The system collects data from outpatient, inpatient, low threshold methadone maintenance units, crisis counselling units and general practitioners in Ireland. In 2007, a total of 416 treatment services reported to the NDTRS out of the 505 treatment centres.
In 2007, a total of 5 775 clients entered treatment, of whom 2 475 entered treatment for the first time. Data regarding all treatment clients suggests that 63.9 % of all clients entering treatment reported that an opiate was the primary drug, followed by 16.3 % for cannabis and 13.3 % for cocaine. Among new treatment clients a similar distribution was identified with 43.4 % for opiates, followed by 28.1 % for cannabis and 19 % for cocaine.
In 2007, 36 % of all clients entering treatment were aged less than 25 years. A higher percentage in age distribution was reported among clients entering treatment for the first time, with 52 % under the age of 25 years. In 2007, the proportion of males to females for all clients entering treatment was 77 % for male and 23 % for female. A similar gender ratio was also reported among clients entering treatment for the first time, with 78 % for male and 22 % for female.
Drug-related infectious diseases
Data from the Health Promotion Surveillance Centre (HPSC) indicate a fall in the number of newly-diagnosed HIV cases among injecting drug users between 1994 and 1998, with about 20 cases per year, compared to about 50 cases each year in the preceding six years. There was a sharp increase in 1999 in the number of cases among injecting drug users, which continued into 2000, with 69 and 70 new cases respectively. Between 2001 and 2005, the numbers of new injector cases were higher than in 1998. It was difficult to interpret the trend due to the relatively small numbers diagnosed each year, so a rolling, centred, three-year average was calculated for each year and these annual averages indicate a true increase in the number of HIV cases among injecting drug users since 1999. In 2007, 54 newly diagnosed cases of HIV among injecting drug users were reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. This is a slight decrease on the 2006 figure (57).
According to the data from HPSC, there were 1 558 cases of hepatitis C reported in 2007, compared to 1 439 cases in 2005. The results of blood-borne viral prevalence studies indicate that around 70 % of injecting drug users attending drug treatment tested positive for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus. High-risk injecting practices and increased time spent in prison have been associated with a positive hepatitis C status among injecting drug users.
Drug-related deaths
Direct-drug-related deaths are those occurring as a result of overdose.
For the first time in 2007, Ireland was able to provide data for Selection D. The number of cases in Selection D has fluctuated between 1998 (104 cases) and 2003; however, since 2003 the number of cases (mainly due to cocaine and/or poly-substances including an opiate) has risen from 107 cases to 159 cases in 2005. Three quarters of cases were male (79.3 %) and the mean age was 39.5 years old.
Treatment responses
In Ireland, the Department of Health and Children is responsible for developing and reviewing drug treatment policy and strategy, while the Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for implementing this treatment strategy. Drug treatment is provided through four HSE regions and 32 local health offices. On 1 January 2005, the 10 health boards managing the health services in Ireland were replaced by a single entity, the Health Service Executive (HSE), which manages Ireland’s public health sector. The management of all addiction services falls under the remit of ‘Primary, community and continuing care’, who oversees a number of national care groups. Funding for treatment is generally provided by the statutory sector through the Health Service Executive, however, in some cases individuals are obliged to contribute to the cost of drug treatment (excluding methadone maintenance treatment) usually through private medical care plans.
Treatment is provided through a network of statutory and non-statutory agencies. There are two broad philosophies through which treatment services are provided, namely medication-free therapy and medication-assisted treatment. There is a small degree of overlap between the two. Medication-free therapy uses models such as therapeutic communities and the Minnesota model, although some services have adapted these models to suit their particular clients needs. Medication-assisted treatment includes opiate detoxification and substitution therapies, alcohol and benzodiazepine detoxification, and psychiatric treatment. Various types of counselling are provided through both philosophies of treatment and independent of either type of treatment. Alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, are provided through both statutory and community projects in Dublin. Furthermore, pregnant female opiate users and their partners are entitled to immediate access to treatment. There are also specific initiatives available for drug users under the age of 18 years. These include psychiatric therapy, family therapy, specially adapted medication free therapy and guidelines around the use of medication. The total number of drug treatment services available in Ireland showed a strong increase between 1998 and 2004 with the largest expansion in the outpatient sector.
Three inpatient units and a number of outpatient treatment centres provide detoxification for problem opiate users and treatment centres, satellite clinics and specialised general practitioners provide substitution treatment. Methadone, introduced in 1992, is the most commonly-used agent for opiate detoxification and substitution treatment. Buprenorphine has been introduced in 2002 and the buprenorphine/naloxone combination in 2007. However, almost all clients in opioid substitution treatment receive methadone with a total of 9 302 clients in 2007.
Harm reduction responses
Needle and syringe exchange services were first provided in Ireland in 1989, when five exchanges were established. There are now 34 exchanges in the country, operating three models of service: fixed-site exchanges, home visit exchanges, and exchanges in public locations. The 31 services provided exchanges at fixed sites (28), on home visits (3) and in public locations (2); two services provided exchanges in two settings. Of the 31 services, 20 provided services in urban locations, 12 in inner city locations and three in rural locations; some services operated in more than one location.
Services provided a range of sterile injecting equipment and materials. All 31 services provided different sizes and types of needle and syringe, as well as alcohol swabs and citric or acetic acid. All services also provided condoms. Thirty services provided stericups or cookers and sterile water; 28 provided non-toxic foil (for smoking heroin); eleven provided syringe identifiers; and seven provided tourniquets. No service provided single-use injecting packs, crack pipes or straws.
In Ireland, the hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for several high-risk groups. Prisoners and injecting drug users are two of the high-risk groups. A national hepatitis C working group, established in early 2007, has examined how the country can respond to hepatitis C in the areas of surveillance, education and treatment. The experts’ recommendations were presented to HSE senior management in 2008.
On 9 August 2005, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children introduced a new statutory instrument known as ‘the Medical Products (prescription and control of supply) (Amendment) Regulations 2005’. This permits the supply and administration of a number of medicinal products (including naloxone, for the management of respiratory depression secondary to a known or suspected narcotic overdose) by pre-hospital emergency care providers in specific conditions.
Drug markets and drug-related offences
The principal source of information on Irish drug offences was in the Annual report of An Garda Síochána (the Irish police) up to 2006 and the Central Statictics Office since. The reports contain information on the number and quantity of drug seizures made by the Garda Síochána and the Irish Customs Drug Law Enforcement.
Over the past five years, the number of cocaine seizures has shown a strong upward trend, increasing from 300 seizures in 2001 to 1 749 in 2007. The volume of cocaine seized has increased steadily since 2001, increasing from 5 kg in 2001 to 1 752 kg in 2007. The number of heroin seizures increased from 209 in 1995 to a peak of 1 698 in 2007. The volume of heroin seized has fluctuated from year to year. Between 1995 and 2007, the volume of heroin seized increased significantly from 6 kg to 147 kg in 2007.
The vast majority of drug-related offences reported in the Garda annual reports come under one of three sections of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977: Section 3 — possession of any controlled drug without due authorisation; Section 15 — possession of a controlled drug for the purpose of unlawful sale or supply; and Section 21— obstructing the lawful exercise of a power conferred by the Act. Other offences regularly reported relate to the unlawful importation into the State of controlled drugs contrary to Section 21; permitting one’s premises to be used for drug supply or use contrary to Section 19; the use of forged prescriptions (Section 18); and the cultivation of cannabis plants (Section 17). Data complied by the Irish Central Statistics Office regarding drug related offences in 2007 reported that there were a total of 14 001 reported drug-related offences. Out of which 49.6 % were cannabis related offences, followed by 12.6 % of heroin related offences and 11.4 % of amphetamine related offences.
National drug laws
Possession of any controlled substance without due authorisation is an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Acts, 1977 and 1984. The drugs to which the acts apply are listed in the schedules to the acts, together with some generic definitions of families of substances. The legislation makes a distinction between possession for personal use and possession for sale or supply. Penalties for possession for personal use depend on the type of drug (cannabis or other drugs) and on the penal proceedings, i.e. whether a summary conviction or a conviction on indictment. Possession of cannabis or cannabis resin for personal use is punishable by a fine on first or second conviction but from a third offence onwards it incurs a fine and/or a term of imprisonment up to one year for summary conviction and up to three years for conviction on indictment. Possession in any other case incurs a penalty of imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine on summary conviction and up to seven years on conviction on indictment. As regards drug trafficking, the law establishes different penalties according to the type of offender, the type of drugs and the quantity. Possession for sale or supply attracts penalties up to life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for the possession of drugs with a market value of at least EUR 12 700.
Since 31 January 2006, any kind of fungus which contains psilocin or an ester of psilocin is a controlled drug under the Act. The Criminal Justice Act 2006 included:
- criminal offences in relation to participation in criminal organisations;
- strengthened provisions on the imposition of the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for drug trafficking;
- new offences of supplying drugs to prisoners;
- provisions in relation to a Drug Offenders Register;
- new provisions to deal with anti-social behaviour, such as anti-social behaviour orders.
The Drugs Treatment Court in Dublin is being extended to all court areas in the Dublin metropolitan district.
National drug strategy
The Irish ‘National drugs strategy 2001–08: Building on experience’, was launched in 2001. Its overall aim is to significantly reduce the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs. The four pillars of this comprehensive strategy are: supply reduction; prevention (including education and awareness); treatment (including rehabilitation); and research. Specific objectives and key performance indicators were defined for each pillar and the strategy contains 100 actions grouped according to the responsible government departments or institutions. A mid-term review concluded that progress had been made across all pillars and recommended that some actions should be replaced or amended and new actions added. It also recommended that two working groups be set up to explore expanding the scope of the national drugs strategy: one on alcohol and drugs and one on rehabilitation. The latter triggered the creation of a new strategy and a new coordination mechanism in this field, which is now the fifth pillar of the national drug strategy.
Coordination mechanism in the field of drugs
The Committee on Social Inclusion (CCSI) is chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of government ministers and ministers of state with responsibility for the national drugs strategy. It is responsible for reviewing the trends in problem drug use; assesses progress in implementing the national drugs strategy; and resolves policy or organisational difficulties.
The Inter-Departmental Group on Drugs (IDG) is chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy and composed of officials of government departments with responsibility for implementing the national drugs strategy, together with representatives of state agencies and of the voluntary and community sectors, The IDG oversees progress in implementing the national drugs strategy; reviews government policy on issues that may arise; approves, at joint meetings with the national drugs strategy team, the plans and initiatives of the local drugs task forces and regional drugs task forces; monitors and evaluates the outcomes of of the task force projects and programmes; and makes recommendations to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion.
The National Drugs Strategy Team (NDST) is a cross-departmental team representing departments and agencies involved in the drugs field. It also contains one representative each from the community and voluntary sectors. It ensures effective coordination between officials and members of the community and voluntary sectors in delivering local and regional drug task force plans; reviews the need for local drug task forces in disadvantaged areas; identifies and consider policy issues through joint meetings with the IDG; evaluate local and regional drugs task force action plans and make recommendations to the IDG regarding the allocation of funding to support their implementation.
The National Drugs Strategy Unit in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA) is responsible for coordinating the overall implementation of the national drugs strategy. Specific coordinating functions include advising and supporting the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy in driving the implementation of the strategy; monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the various actions, and highlighting gaps and issues arising, to the IDG and the CCSI.
Ten Regional Drug Task Forces (RDTF), set up in 2006, bring together all the State agencies as well as the voluntary and community sectors. Their role is to develop a coordinated response to drug misuse through the development of a single, integrated plan.
Fourteen Local Drug Task Forces (LDTF) in Dublin, Cork and Wicklow, a partnership between the statutory, voluntary and community sectors, are established in the areas experiencing the worst levels of opiate misuse. They develop local action plans.
Drug-related research
Research is one of the four pillars of Ireland’s national drug strategy, and has two main objectives: to make data available on the extent of drug misuse amongst all marginalised groups; and to gain greater understanding of the factors which contribute to the misuse of drugs. The areas of prevalence, prevention, treatment and consequences of problem drug use were listed as priorities and account for most of the main projects in this area. Funding is mainly made available by governmental sources, while research in this area is mainly undertaken by the national focal point, the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, Merchants Quay, Ireland, National University, Ireland, Maynooth and Trinity College, Dublin. The national focal point coordinates two main reporting systems, a documentation centre, a newsletter and a website where a database on research projects is available. Several national scientific journals contribute to disseminating drug-related research findings. Recent drug-related studies mentioned in the 2008 Irish National report mainly focused on aspects related to prevalence of drug use and on responses to the drug situation.