One of the country's largest treatment centres for people overcoming addiction wants the Government to back a new mother-and-child facility in Limerick.

One of the country’s longest-running specialist drug centres witnessed a 31% jump in demand for services last year.

The alcohol and pharmaceutical industries should use some of their profits to fund addiction services, a leading drug charity has said.

Drug addicts seeking help at one treatment centre are mostly in their 30s and more than half are from outside the capital, it was revealed at a celebration to mark 40 years of helping people rebuild their lives after drug addiction.

Exasperated staff at the country’s only mother and child detox unit have been told by the Government to apply for lottery funding in a last-ditch effort to keep the unit open.