Background

Drug early warning systems (EWSs) aim to identify emerging drug-related issues early so that timely action can be taken to reduce risks to public health.1 The effectiveness of an EWS depends on the range and quality of information sources available to it. These sources may include laboratory analysis of samples obtained from a variety of settings, as well as non-laboratory information sources. Laboratory samples may be obtained from drug seizures, drug checking services, post-mortem testing, wastewater monitoring, clinical toxicology, and other settings.1,2 Non-laboratory information sources may include healthcare data on drug use and harms, law enforcement data, poison centre data, pharmacovigilance system data, and reports from key informants (including people who use drugs and staff working in health and social care, outreach, and harm reduction settings).1,2 

Introduction

Globally, alcohol use is quantified and compared across countries by determining the alcohol per capita (APC) use of a country and measuring against alcohol-related harms. Monitoring APC allows countries to assess public health, make international comparisons, track trends over time, and evaluate the impact of policies. 

Defining per capita alcohol use 

APC estimates are constructed by determining the amount of alcohol sold, expressed as litres of pure (100%) alcohol, within a country or region per year and applying the amount to the population aged 15 years and over (as this is typically the age at which young people start drinking alcohol). As a result, we end up with the litres of pure alcohol sold per person per year and these are used as a proxy for consumption.

Semi-synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) have emerged as a growing public health concern in Ireland despite recent legislative efforts aimed at restricting their sale. A recent article published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine warns that these cannabis-like substances continue to be widely available across the country and may pose serious risks to both physical and mental health, particularly among young people.1 The authors argue that Ireland’s delayed response to the rise of SSCs highlights significant weaknesses in drug policy and enforcement systems that require urgent reform.

Ana Liffey is a ‘low-threshold, harm reduction’ project working with people who are actively using drugs and experiencing associated problems. Ana Liffey has been offering harm reduction services to people in the north inner city area of Dublin since 1982, from premises at Middle Abbey Street. Ana Liffey offers a wide variety of low-threshold, harm reduction services that provide pathways for drug users out of their current circumstance, including addiction and homelessness. 

Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) is a national voluntary agency providing services for homeless people and those who use drugs. There are 27 MQI locations in 14 counties in the Republic of Ireland (see Figure 1). MQI aims to offer accessible, high-quality, and effective services to people dealing with homelessness and addiction to meet their complex needs in a non-judgemental and compassionate way. This article highlights services provided by MQI to people who used drugs in Ireland in 2024.1
Harm reduction services

The aim of harm reduction is to minimise the risks stemming from sharing drug paraphernalia. In 2024, a total of 2,956 unique clients were provided with 22,896 health-led, harm reduction interventions, including needle exchange, in MQI’s Riverbank Centre. A total of 433 safer injection training sessions were provided for clients, with the aim of reducing the physical harm caused by unsafe practices. In addition, 139 clients were trained in the use of the overdose reversal medicine naloxone. 

A visiting committee is appointed to each Irish prison under the Prisons (Visiting Committees) Act, 1925 and the Prisons (Visiting Committees) Order, 1925. Members of the 12 visiting committees are appointed by the Minister for Justice for a term not exceeding 3 years. The function of prison visiting committees is to visit, at frequent intervals, the prison to which they are appointed and to hear any complaints that may be made to them by any prisoner. The committees report to the Minister for Justice regarding any abuses observed or found, and any repairs which they think are urgently needed. Prison visiting committee members have free access, either collectively or individually, to every part of the prison to which their committee is appointed. Information from prison visiting committee reports relating to drug use in prisons for 2024 is summarised below.1

Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task Force’s Prevention Lab was launched on 13 May 2026 by Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy 

The Prevention Lab is a school-based programme that takes a whole-school approach. It supports students, parents and educators to address drug and alcohol misuse, and it aims to create a supportive environment where prevention and early intervention are prioritised.

The latest report from the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) on drug treatment demand in Ireland was published in May, providing statistics and trends on drug treatment cases, excluding alcohol.1 The publication includes data for the years 2017–2025.

The report outlines key findings on main problem drugs, sociodemographic characteristics, and health region of residence. It also focuses on three main themes: polydrug use, risk factors, and cocaine use.

Background

A report prepared by the Institute of Public Health for the Online Health Taskforce examined children’s engagement with marketing of specific health-harming products, namely: tobacco; e-cigarettes; alcohol; sunbeds; gambling; and high-fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) foods and drinks.1 For the purposes of this Drugnet article, we focus on alcohol marketing.

Introduction

Children in Ireland are highly engaged in digital environments from an early age, with common access to smartphones, social media, and online platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat. This exposes them to extensive marketing of health-harming products, including alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes, gambling, and unhealthy foods, despite legal restrictions on their sale to children. Digital marketing is sophisticated and often indistinguishable from regular content, appearing through advertisements, influencer endorsements, embedded promotions, and interactive features. As a result, children may not recognise it as marketing.