Mr. Jim Walsh:

We have a detailed breakdown in the report and it breaks it down by each individual drug. I will share a summary with the committee.

The headline is that we see a change in the main drug for which treatment is required. We see heroin use declining, which probably reflects a population that is growing older, and an increase in cocaine use. That is one trend. That includes cocaine use among women as well, which is another trend we have identified.

The second issue is polydrug use. We are seeing people presenting with problematic drug use across a range of drugs, including what might be called prescribable drugs or benzodiazepines. That would be a second trend. It is an evolving situation. We have been trying to respond to that as best we can. In 2022 and in 2023 we provided an extra €1 million specifically for cocaine treatment and crack cocaine treatment. The Minister of State mentioned some of the examples earlier on about Tallaght in south Dublin. It is evolving and of course we have not yet captured the more recent issues to do with synthetic opioids. Thankfully, that has been quite isolated but it is something we need to be ready for.