College plans to develop drink and drug-free accommodation

Drink-free student accommodation and more reporting of cheap alcohol promotions are among plans to widen action against the harmful effects of alcohol by University College Cork.

Around 3,500 new students at the college in the coming weeks will be targeted with a number of ongoing initiatives to raise awareness around the potential harms of drink and drug abuse. As well as students, academic and other staff are being trained to recognise if someone may have addiction issues and refer them to university health, counselling or other services.

While residents near the campus and other student accommodation centres continue to complain about anti-social behaviour, the strategy includes a number of plans to make the campus and local environment safe from alcohol-related harm.