We're drinking less and generally more health conscious. So why is cocaine use increasing?
A major generational shift has occurred in Irish society without much fanfare.
Alcohol
consumption in Ireland has collapsed. A report commissioned by the
Drinks Industry Group of Ireland
published this month showed the average alcohol consumption per adult in Ireland fell 4.5 per cent in 2024 compared with 2023. The story over the course of two decades is much more profound. Since 2001, alcohol consumption per adult in Ireland fell by 34.3 per cent.
Today, people in Ireland are drinking at average European levels (a good argument for reducing excise taxes). The
Health Research Board
's 2024 report on alcohol showed Ireland is no longer a high alcohol consumption country by
European Union
or OECD standards.
This is a remarkable shift, great news for public health, and will have a positive knock-on effect for decades to come.
The reasons suggested for this can come off as anecdotal or vague, but like any behavioural shift, there tends to be multiple factors at once. What we do know is that this is a trend led by younger generations, who are less likely to reach for the bottle compared with their older siblings and parents. The data consistently show this. A report by Red C in April – part of broader polling across 39 countries – showed that 21 per cent of 18- to 24-year olds drink often, compared with 31 per cent of all adults, and 48 per cent of older men.
READ MORE
Younger people are more health conscious and therefore more mindful of the damage alcohol and hangovers cause to the body and mind. Alcohol is also as expensive as it has ever been in Ireland. Student life has changed due to the housing and rental crisis, with fewer younger people living independently as Ireland has regressed to a context more akin to the early 20th century, with people living with their parents well into adulthood. Younger people are also more attuned to their mental and emotional wellbeing, and less likely than Generation X adults to hit the bottle to dissociate under the guise of 'relaxing' or reducing stress. There is less peer pressure among younger people to drink compared with the social culture older generations fostered within their peer groups, and less judgment around sobriety. The trend of alcohol-free months can also reduce people's consumption in the short and medium term, and sometimes embed lifelong moderation. Ultimately, younger people are more grown up and responsible when it comes to alcohol.
For all the progress made around alcohol, there is a major youth public-health issue regarding cocaine use. This is not being addressed in anything approaching something effective
All of this speaks to a sense of maturity, confidence and capacity to be grounded enough and able to exert at least some kind of self-control that was absent among older generations. What has been happening concurrently is that more people are using therapy and other resources to address their mental health needs. According to the most recent St Patrick's Mental Health Stigma and Attitudes Survey, in 2024, 66 per cent of people who were experiencing mental health difficulties sought treatment, an increase of 10 per cent from 2023. A movement from self-medicating to self-care is a sign of collective emotional growth. It demonstrates a capacity for self-reflection and self-examination, as well as a reduction in stigma around seeking help for mental health challenges.
But there is something else happening alongside the decline in alcohol consumption, and that's the rise in cocaine use. A 2023
United Nations
report showed that Ireland is, remarkably, the joint-fourth highest consumer of cocaine globally.
[
Cocaine cited as main drug in almost two-fifths of cases needing treatment
Opens in new window
]
Demographically, this is a younger person's issue. Among 15 to 34-year-olds, Ireland has the distinction of being home to the biggest consumers of cocaine in Europe. In 2024, the median age for those seeking treatment for powder cocaine use was 32 years old. Thirty-nine per cent were in employment, compared with 7 per cent of crack cocaine users in treatment. Heroin and opioid users in treatment skew older, with an average age of 45, in tune with the 'greying' of heroin and opioid users in Ireland, which has been the case for some time.
In 2024, there were more people treated for problem drug use in Ireland than ever before,
according to the Health Research Board
. Cocaine was the most common drug used by those in treatment, up 7 per cent from 2023. Since 2017, there has been a 426 per cent increase in women receiving cocaine treatment. Figures for 2023 for people contacting the
Health Service Executive
's drug and alcohol helpline also showed record numbers. Twenty-one per cent of calls were related to cocaine. In 2009, cocaine was mentioned by 2 per cent of callers. This is a huge jump.
For all the progress made around alcohol, there is a major youth public-health issue regarding cocaine use. This is not being addressed in anything approaching something effective. It demands and requires a non-judgmental public-health response, and education and awareness, all of which appears to be lacking relative to the level of consumption in Ireland.
We are in a situation where there are signs that one public-health issue – excessive alcohol consumption – is being at least partly replaced by another. If we have the stats, where's the action?
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Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
We're drinking less and generally more health conscious. So why is cocaine use increasing?
A major generational shift has occurred in Irish society without much fanfare. Alcohol consumption in Ireland has collapsed. A report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland published this month showed the average alcohol consumption per adult in Ireland fell 4.5 per cent in 2024 compared with 2023. The story over the course of two decades is much more profound. Since 2001, alcohol consumption per adult in Ireland fell by 34.3 per cent. Today, people in Ireland are drinking at average European levels (a good argument for reducing excise taxes). The Health Research Board 's 2024 report on alcohol showed Ireland is no longer a high alcohol consumption country by European Union or OECD standards. This is a remarkable shift, great news for public health, and will have a positive knock-on effect for decades to come. The reasons suggested for this can come off as anecdotal or vague, but like any behavioural shift, there tends to be multiple factors at once. What we do know is that this is a trend led by younger generations, who are less likely to reach for the bottle compared with their older siblings and parents. The data consistently show this. A report by Red C in April – part of broader polling across 39 countries – showed that 21 per cent of 18- to 24-year olds drink often, compared with 31 per cent of all adults, and 48 per cent of older men. READ MORE Younger people are more health conscious and therefore more mindful of the damage alcohol and hangovers cause to the body and mind. Alcohol is also as expensive as it has ever been in Ireland. Student life has changed due to the housing and rental crisis, with fewer younger people living independently as Ireland has regressed to a context more akin to the early 20th century, with people living with their parents well into adulthood. Younger people are also more attuned to their mental and emotional wellbeing, and less likely than Generation X adults to hit the bottle to dissociate under the guise of 'relaxing' or reducing stress. There is less peer pressure among younger people to drink compared with the social culture older generations fostered within their peer groups, and less judgment around sobriety. The trend of alcohol-free months can also reduce people's consumption in the short and medium term, and sometimes embed lifelong moderation. Ultimately, younger people are more grown up and responsible when it comes to alcohol. For all the progress made around alcohol, there is a major youth public-health issue regarding cocaine use. This is not being addressed in anything approaching something effective All of this speaks to a sense of maturity, confidence and capacity to be grounded enough and able to exert at least some kind of self-control that was absent among older generations. What has been happening concurrently is that more people are using therapy and other resources to address their mental health needs. According to the most recent St Patrick's Mental Health Stigma and Attitudes Survey, in 2024, 66 per cent of people who were experiencing mental health difficulties sought treatment, an increase of 10 per cent from 2023. A movement from self-medicating to self-care is a sign of collective emotional growth. It demonstrates a capacity for self-reflection and self-examination, as well as a reduction in stigma around seeking help for mental health challenges. But there is something else happening alongside the decline in alcohol consumption, and that's the rise in cocaine use. A 2023 United Nations report showed that Ireland is, remarkably, the joint-fourth highest consumer of cocaine globally. [ Cocaine cited as main drug in almost two-fifths of cases needing treatment Opens in new window ] Demographically, this is a younger person's issue. Among 15 to 34-year-olds, Ireland has the distinction of being home to the biggest consumers of cocaine in Europe. In 2024, the median age for those seeking treatment for powder cocaine use was 32 years old. Thirty-nine per cent were in employment, compared with 7 per cent of crack cocaine users in treatment. Heroin and opioid users in treatment skew older, with an average age of 45, in tune with the 'greying' of heroin and opioid users in Ireland, which has been the case for some time. In 2024, there were more people treated for problem drug use in Ireland than ever before, according to the Health Research Board . Cocaine was the most common drug used by those in treatment, up 7 per cent from 2023. Since 2017, there has been a 426 per cent increase in women receiving cocaine treatment. Figures for 2023 for people contacting the Health Service Executive 's drug and alcohol helpline also showed record numbers. Twenty-one per cent of calls were related to cocaine. In 2009, cocaine was mentioned by 2 per cent of callers. This is a huge jump. For all the progress made around alcohol, there is a major youth public-health issue regarding cocaine use. This is not being addressed in anything approaching something effective. It demands and requires a non-judgmental public-health response, and education and awareness, all of which appears to be lacking relative to the level of consumption in Ireland. We are in a situation where there are signs that one public-health issue – excessive alcohol consumption – is being at least partly replaced by another. If we have the stats, where's the action?
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Sinéad Gibney tells of how cousin Des Bishop ‘helped me to reflect on my own drinking'
It was a routine slot in the Dáil early on Thursday morning. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke was taking oral questions from TDs. Somebody asked him about mandatory health labelling on alcohol products. He replied the Government might defer its introduction because of the threat of US tariffs. Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney intervened to say she opposed putting the labels on the long finger. It was then that she disclosed to the chamber, and by extension to the public, her own relationship with alcohol. 'I haven't had a drink of alcohol in 13½ years. Alcohol and its negative impacts have played a huge part in my life,' she told the Dáil. Gibney had thought through what she would say and the fact she would be making this very public revelation to support her opposition to this rollback of policy. She had spoken publicly about her drinking in the past but knew that saying it in the Dáil would draw a different level of attention to her personally. READ MORE [ TD says she hasn't drunk alcohol in over 13 years during impassioned plea to not delay health-warning labels Opens in new window ] The Social Democrats TD for Dublin-Rathdown has been perceived as a high achiever throughout her career, having been head of social action with Google Ireland and the chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission . However, from her mid-teens to her mid-30s, she had a problematic relationship with alcohol. 'My drinking had always been too heavy. I had my first drink at 14. I was regularly drinking by the time I was 16. I'm not good at stopping. 'I was good craic, but I would always be the last person standing, and that's not good for your health ... That pattern was always there, absolutely.' Things came to a head in her mid-30s. She was a single mother, working in Google and studying for a master's degree. 'I had a busy social life and, like a lot of Irish people, I drank too much. 'It wasn't detrimental to my friendships. I was a life-and-soul type of person but it was detrimental to me in terms of my own mental health. I had a lot of bad hangovers.' There was no epiphany moment, no intervention. She decided to see if she could live her life without alcohol. She also wanted to be more present for her daughter, Bella, who was 11 at the time. 'I knew that I just wasn't there for Bella in a way that I wanted to be. That was definitely part of my motivation.' The comedian Des Bishop is her cousin and he had a destructive relationship with alcohol as a younger man. She talked to him frequently around this time. 'He helped me to reflect on my own drinking and what it was like in my life. That prompted self-reflection in me. And so I decided to test my life without alcohol.' 18/12/2024 - NEWS - Image as the Dail return's. Sinead Gibney SD. Photograph Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times At the time, she did not describe it to herself as an addiction. 'I saw myself as somebody who worked hard and played hard. I did not necessarily think I had a problem with alcohol.' Nonetheless the drinking patterns were not healthy. 'I might have a bottle of wine in the fridge that I would have over a few nights, and then sometimes I wouldn't put the bottle away. On a weeknight, drinking a full bottle of wine is not good. The thing is it did not interfere with my work. It was much more impactful on my relationship with my daughter and, indeed, with myself.' She had picked a date of mid-January 2012 to stop. But a 'hard night' out just after Christmas, and a horrendous hangover, brought the date forward to New Year's Eve. She has not taken alcohol since. 'I just bare-knuckled it. The thing about addiction is that when you take away the painkiller you feel the pain. I went into therapy a few months later and I had a brilliant therapist. I've been in therapy multiple times in my life. I'm a big fan of it and very open about it. 'I was dealing with stuff that arose because I gave up alcohol and that was why I needed that therapy journey.' She said that people advised her she would probably not get a whole lot out of Alcoholics Anonymous at that time. 'So I chose not to go. I did go to AA years later for a period and really found it very helpful. But at the time for me, therapy was a really good support in navigating through life without alcohol.' She says she doesn't tend to use the word alcoholic a lot mainly because of the reaction it provokes and because addiction is a complex topic. 'A lot of us have forms of addiction in our lives that we don't really own up to. I think it was probably years later that I probably started to say the word alcoholic, but I did talk about addiction and recovery from quite soon after. My sobriety now is something I really treasure.' The personal benefits were immeasurable. 'It transformed my relationship with my daughter. I became so much more present, and the quality of time that we had together just shot up.' The change was not without big challenges, though: 'I now had to navigate social anxiety and how to be around people in a social setting without the crutch of alcohol. 'I spend a lot of time in my life working on my self-awareness. I do not feel that I would be here where I am today if I hadn't made that choice around alcohol. 'I think there is a large amount of potential in this country that is untapped because of alcohol. People will hear my story, and hopefully some people will hear something similar to what they experience. Every single human should examine their relationship with alcohol.'
Irish Independent
8 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Assessment of Need waiting list backlog ‘completely unacceptable', autism charity chief says
Adam Harris criticised the fact that only 7pc of referrals have been seen within the legal time limit of six months. 'The reality is that it's taking far too long,' he said. 'The Government is talking about waiting lists for an AON as if it's a charity act or a nice thing to do. There are clear domestic obligations in place that are being breached here. 'Ireland was also the last country in the EU to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the UNCRPD, which moves us away from the charity model. So it is also breaching that commitment.' Currently, there are over 15,000 children waiting for an AON, which is used to identify if a child has a disability and what services they need to access. The HSE expects the numbers on the waiting list to soar to nearly 25,000 by the end of the year as it grapples with chronic staff shortages in the disability sector. Mr Harris cited an 'urgent need' to get on top of the backlog, given the lack of key services for children with additional needs. The majority of parents have to fork out up to €1,000 to pay for a private assessment for their child, given the lengthy wait times. It needs to be done right across the education system He said Ireland has the right strategy and legislation, but is falling down in the area of implementation and investment. With regards to a mooted plan to move services like speech and language therapy (SLT) into the classroom setting, Mr Harris said he is 'very supportive' of that. ADVERTISEMENT 'Now that there has been a commitment to roll out a model in that regard, there is a real importance in how we do that. There is a clear benefit in not having to remove a child from a classroom and not being in a sterile setting,' he said. 'But where therapeutic supports are being delivered, it needs to be done right across the education system. 'So I don't just mean in special schools, but also mainstream schools or wherever is the most appropriate place for autistic kids to access them. We need to see a clear rollout on how that would happen and it should be done in a holistic sense.' Mr Harris was speaking as AsIAm and PTSB joined forces to launch the 2025 Autism Friendly Towns initiative. An idea first championed in Clonakilty in 2018, it has since been rolled out to 40 communities around Ireland with hopes of dozens more signing up to the initiative. 'Our ambition is that every community in Ireland would be an autism-friendly town,' Mr Harris said.
