People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk of contracting bloodborne viruses (BBV) and comprise three-quarters of diagnosed cases of hepatitis C in Ireland. Surveillance of drug use and drug-related BBV is essential for monitoring the impact of prevention and harm reduction programmes. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) recently published a comprehensive summary of drug-related BBV in Ireland.¹ The report was compiled by a collaborative group comprising representatives from several health agencies, doctors, and others active in harm reduction and drug treatment work in Ireland. The final report was authored by HPSC staff.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease and death. Drug use remains the significant cause of new infections in the European Union (EU), with estimates of HCV antibody prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID) ranging from 5% to 90% in 29 European countries.¹ In the Republic of Ireland and the EU, primary care is a key area to focus efforts to enhance HCV diagnosis and treatment among PWID. Recently developed HCV direct-acting antiviral drugs are well tolerated and delivered for shorter courses (8–12 weeks), with trials reporting more than 90% cure rates among PWID.² However, despite these highly effective treatments, many people at risk are unaware of their infection and obstacles may limit access to HCV care, resulting in many patients not being treated.

An article published in July 2018 by The Journal.ie explained that needle exchange services in Dublin had noted a strong uptake of clean crack pipes by service users in response to a surge in the availability and consumption of crack cocaine in 2018.¹

Research published in April 2018 in Child Care in Practice explored in depth the help-seeking behaviours of those affected by substance-use disorder among family members, with a view to informing the design and delivery of support services for affected persons.¹ The study focused on affected family members’ use and assessment of available supports, barriers encountered in accessing supports, and recommendations for overcoming these barriers.

An Garda Síochána Annual Policing Plan 2018 identifies the main policing concerns for 2018 as prioritised by An Garda Sióchána (AGS) and in support of the AGS Strategy Statement July 2016—2018.^1,2 It considers priorities identified by the Minister of Justice and Equality and the Policing Authority along with the views of external stakeholders and the general public. It contains several ‘concrete measurable initiatives’ (p. 2) and will attempt to implement several recommendations from the Garda Inspectorate Report Changing policing in Ireland.³ As in previous plans, several areas have been highlighted by AGS in 2018: organisational development and capacity improvement; national and international security; confronting crime; roads policing; and community engagement and public safety.

In November 2017, the Prevention and Education Subcommittee of Dublin’s North Inner City Drug and Alcohol Task Force (NICDATF) held a forum on substance misuse prevention and education. It was opened by Minister of State Catherine Byrne TD and attended by youth and community workers and teachers, alongside a small number of young people. The forum was held in the context of the 2017 national drugs and alcohol strategy, Reducing harm, supporting recovery.¹ The new strategy had moved away from having prevention as one of a set of strategic pillars to prevention actions falling under a broader goal that sets out to promote and protect health and wellbeing.

Based on the recommendations of a value-for-money and policy review,¹ the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) is developing a single ‘fit-for-purpose youth scheme’.

High levels of alcohol use have been found among third-level students in Ireland. In 2014, the Health Service Executive (HSE) commissioned a research team to develop a public health intervention to address alcohol use among third-level students. Responding to Excessive Alcohol Consumption in Third-level (REACT)¹ was developed in collaboration between the Health Matters team at University College Cork, the Irish Student Health Association, and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).

The majority of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) in Ireland is provided through general practitioners (GPs), who undergo additional training, and through the Methadone Treatment Programme (MTP), which has been running for 20 years. Over this period, however, misuse of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medication use has increased. Increases in waiting times for treatment and drug-related deaths have occurred despite a scaling up of OAT in Ireland. The aim of this study¹ was to make recommendations to improve OAT and MTP treatment.

On 17 July 2018, a new campaign developed by the Ana Liffey Drug Project and the Health Service Executive (HSE) was launched to raise awareness of the dangers of using cocaine (powder and crack) and on how to reduce the harms associated with snorting, smoking or injecting cocaine.¹ The Republic of Ireland currently ranks fourth highest in the European Union for cocaine use among young adults. In addition, cocaine remains the third most common drug reported among people presenting to treatment services in Ireland; in 2016, 12.3% of cases reported problem cocaine use, the highest proportion since 2010. While the campaign will stress that it is always safest not to take unknown or illicit drugs at all, if a person chooses to use cocaine, the campaign provides harm reduction advice. This includes the following:

Opioid dependence is a major health concern across the world. The most recent prevalence estimates of opiate use in the Republic of Ireland indicate that there were 18,988 opioid users in Ireland in 2014, giving a rate of 6.18 per thousand population aged 15—64 years (95% CI: 6.09—6.98).¹ Six per cent of this estimated population was under 24 years of age. Although recent trends suggest that the prevalence of problem opiate use in Ireland may have stabilised, it should be noted that estimates remain high, with other comparable studies suggesting that rates of use remain among the highest in Europe. Opioid substitution treatment (OST) is the main first-line treatment intervention for heroin dependence among adults. Nevertheless, while OST has been thoroughly evaluated in adult populations, few studies have examined its use in younger age groups, and there are concerns that OST is underutilised in adolescents with heroin dependence.

The Tabor Group is a provider of residential addiction treatment services in Ireland. It aims to offer hope, healing, and recovery to clients suffering from addictions through integrated and caring services. In addition to three residential facilities, the organisation provides a continuing care programme to clients who have completed treatment in order to assist with their recovery. It also offers counselling to families whose loved ones are struggling with an addiction. In June 2018, the Tabor Group published its annual report.¹ This article highlights services provided by the Tabor Group to individuals with a substance use addiction in 2017.