Cork city courts saw 504 drug related convictions in 2025

Mallow District Court saw the sixth highest number of drug convictions in the country last year, with 182 people convicted on drug offences, up 27% on 2024.

Cork city district courts saw 504 drug convictions in 2025, down 7% on the previous year, while Clonakilty had 72 drug-related convictions last year, down 50% on 143 convictions in 2024.

Even allowing for that year-on-year decrease, Cork as a whole still saw the second-highest rate of drug convictions in the country last year, second only to the capital.

Nationally, Dublin topped the table of drug offence convictions, with 2,071 people convicted for drug offences there in 2025, up 11% on the 1,858 convicted in 2024.

After Cork, Clonmel District Court Office recorded the next highest number of people convicted for drug offences in 2025 at 281, a 27% increase on 2024.

Above pre-pandemic levels 

District court drug convictions are well above pre-pandemic levels, when 4,816 people nationally were convicted in 2019, with 2021 recording the highest number of drug offence convictions — 6,047 — in any one year since then.

While most counties or district court offices recorded falls in the number of persons convicted on drugs offences between 2024 and 2025, some areas recorded significant increases.

Tullamore jumped from 61 drug convictions in 2024 to 171 in 2025, marking a 180 increase, while in Roscommon convictions doubled from 13 to 26, and Portlaoise recorded a 95% increase, from 127 in 2024 to 248 in 2025.

Nationally, Clonakilty recorded the biggest fall in the number of people convicted for drug offences between 2024 and 2025, falling by 50% from 143 to 72.

However, that sharp decline in the number of drug convictions in West Cork was balanced nationally by a surge in drug convictions in the Midlands, including Tullamore, Portlaoise, and Longford, which saw a 24% increase.

Disparity

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, said the disparity in drug convictions across district court offices warranted investigation.

“Why are some parts of Cork recording significantly higher drug conviction rates?,” Ms Ní Mhurchú, a former barrister, asked.

“Is it better policing, more enforcement, different judges, or simply less drug use in particular areas?

“We need research to establish the answers to these questions so that we can design better policy. We need to learn from those areas with low drug use and see what it is that they are doing right.”

The MEP said she believed there should be “hefty fines” for the casual drug users, adding that publicans had told her of the prevalence of young men using cocaine on a regular social basis with, she said, little or no consequence.

“If they are caught, they get a warning or a slap on the wrist.

“They should be faced with massive fines that ensure they will think twice before going out and snorting cocaine on a Saturday night again,” she said.

“Young people are taking a chance because they believe that there is a high probability that they will not be caught.

“This is not a harmless crime. When they buy a bag of cocaine, they are supporting drug gangs and serious organised crime.”