Dr. Eamon Keenan:

I thank the Minister of State for asking me to comment on this issue. As the Minister of State has indicated, we have seen year-on-year increases in the numbers of people presenting to all services suffering from physical and psychological problems associated with cocaine use. The figures are dramatic, with 36% of all new cases presenting to HSE services in 2020 being associated with cocaine. Of that, a smaller number of 15% had problems associated with crack cocaine use, which is a more intense form of cocaine that we are seeing in more marginalised communities. It is important to say, however, that this initiative and the funding will treat and target cocaine users in the broader sense and also consider those marginalised communities where crack cocaine is a problem. It may be interesting for the members to note that a report will be released tomorrow in relation to drug use in higher education institutes. This survey was carried out with 11,500 students across the country. It indicates that there has been a substantial in increase in cocaine use in this population also. With the €850,000 funding identified by the Minister of State, we will allocate some €50,000 for training so that across the country we can provide training for staff to deliver appropriate and evidence-based interventions to people who are presenting with health problems associated with cocaine and crack cocaine use. Before the end of January we will be going out for a call to the CHO areas for submissions in relation to initiatives they will work on around cocaine and crack cocaine use.