A teenage woman on a waiting list for treatment for addiction died before a place became available. And it was a tragedy that was becoming all too commonplace, a conference heard yesterday.

The growth in the number of women seeking treatment for addiction and an alarming rise in heroin use among men seeking help have been revealed by the largest addiction treatment service in the South.

A leading addiction group is on the verge of turning people away from its doors because a vital €19-a-day Department of Social Protection payment is no longer available.