Drug overdose figures a ‘wake-up call’ for action

Figures showing a sustained rise in drug overdose deaths in Ireland are a wake-up call that the country needs to get its act together on the issue, the chairman of the Citizens’ Assembly has said.

Paul Reid, the former HSE chief who is independent chairman of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, said data published by the Health Research Board (HRB) on drug-related deaths was “grim” and “stark”.

The preliminary data showing there were 409 poisoning deaths linked to drugs in Ireland in 2020 was presented at the start of the assembly’s third round of weekend sittings on Saturday.

Figures highlighted to the assembly by Dr Suzi Lyons, senior researcher at the HRB, show a year-on-year increase in drugs-linked poisoning deaths from 2016, when 314 were recorded.

Four out of five deaths recorded in 2020 involved multiple drugs. Opioids were involved in seven out of ten of the deaths, and heroin was involved in one out of five.

The figures also indicate the growing prevalence of cocaine in Irish society. In 2011, 24 poisoning deaths were linked to the drug while in 2020 the figure was 130.

“Unfortunately, if more people are using cocaine in the general population, we can’t be surprised to see them appearing in poisoning deaths,” Dr Lyons told the assembly sitting in the Grand Hotel in Malahide.

Mr Reid said the data set the tone for the assembly’s deliberations on its recommendations to government.

“It’s quite grim, quite stark,” he said.

“Ireland was already a significant outlier in terms of drug-related deaths compared to any country in the EU. I’ve no doubt that this information puts us farther behind in terms of this.

“So if ever we needed a wake-up call as a society, as policymakers, as legislators, that we need to get our act together in relation to this whole issue of drug use, I think that information is very compelling.

“And I think it does set out the importance of this assembly and the opportunity that we have to influence and act with urgency and make recommendations, but it’s quite grim, it’s quite stark.” 

The assembly, comprising 99 randomly selected citizens reflective of the Irish population, along with chairman Mr Reid, is exploring issues related to illicit drug-taking and will submit a report to the Oireachtas by the end of 2023.

It will make recommendations for change covering three areas – legislation, policy and operations/service delivery.