Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising what is an important and serious issue facing Irish society. The Government is acutely aware of the terrible damage that drugs can do to individual users, their families, communities and society as a whole. We are committed to a health-led approach to drug use that reduces the harms associated with drugs and supports recovery from problematic drug use.

In 2024, over 13,000 people sought treatment. That represented an increase of 50% in the number of cases since the national drugs strategy commenced in 2017. This is a worrying trend and, clearly, much more must be done. The Department of Health is providing funding on a recurring basis to the HSE to expand drug services for people with problematic cocaine use across the country. A number of projects have been funded in the Dublin region, including projects that work specifically with women who use cocaine and crack cocaine. The HSE is running a Reduce the Harm awareness campaign on cocaine use in conjunction with community-based drug services. The campaign raises awareness about the dangers of using cocaine powder and crack cocaine and how to reduce the harm associated with snorting, smoking or injecting through online resources and posters. The Government in May established the Joint Committee on Drugs Use to consider recommendations in the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use and make a reasoned response to each recommendation.

The growth in the use of cocaine is shocking. The data from the Health Research Board is a real wake-up call for all of us. Cocaine was the most common drug reported in 2024, comprising close to 40% of all cases. There was a 7.4% increase in 2023, from 4,923 people to 5,289. Cocaine remains the most common main drug among new cases, accounting for almost one half in 2024. Of those reporting crack cocaine as the main problem, 45.6% were female, 7.2% were employed and the median age was 40. Of those reporting powder cocaine as the main problem, 22% were female, 38.8% were employed and the median age entering treatment was 32.

Those are alarming trends in cocaine use. The national drugs strategy and its successor strategy will have to focus on this key issue. The Department of Health has commenced the preparation of the successor national drugs strategy. It has, as the Deputy said, commissioned an independent evaluation of the outgoing strategy, which will be published shortly. We can get that to the Deputy. That evaluation will inform the next national drugs strategy, as will the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use and the views of the re-established Joint Committee on Drugs Use. The Department has undertaken in-person consultations on the successor strategy with relevant stakeholders. More than 250 people have attended consultations, including civil society organisations and people and families with lived and living experience.

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