Fears contaminated drugs linked to deaths of young men in Cork City

Pending the results of toxicology tests, health officials decided to issue a warning amid concerns that the deaths could be the result of a contaminated or extra strong batch of drugs.

The HSE has issued warnings to agencies and services that work with vulnerable people in Cork City following the sudden deaths of two young men on the streets on Friday.

Garda investigations into the deaths are continuing and the results of toxicology tests are awaited to establish if drug overdoses contributed to their deaths.

Pending the results, health officials decided to issue a warning amid concerns that the deaths could be the result of a contaminated or extra strong batch of drugs.

Initial test results should be known over the weekend.

One of the men, aged in his 20s, was found dead in a toilet in the city's Fitzgerald's Park.

The other man, in his early 30s, was found dead in an alley on Kyrl's Quay, just yards from the busy North Gate Bridge.

The HSE said that it cannot comment on individual cases "when to do so might reveal information in relation to identifiable individuals, breaching the ethical requirement on us to observe our duty of confidentiality." 

The HSE said it will work with local stakeholders to review overdoses and will identify if new or emerging trends are associated or if cases relate to other factors.

"At this moment in time, the HSE has no information to indicate that concern is emerging on the Cork heroin market or that new batches are in circulation," a HSE statement said.

"The HSE works with national services to review drug trends.

"Communications are issued when extra risky batches are identified on the market."

Local services in Cork will support service users during the weekend and will work with the HSE to monitor the market to identify if extra risky substances are circulating, the HSE said. 

Counterfeit tablets that could contain novel benzodiazepines or synthetic opioids are in the most recent risk communications circulated by the HSE.

"The HSE reminds people who access tablets without a prescription to be aware of this additional risk at this time," a statement said.

The deaths come amid mounting calls for the establishment of a supervised injection facility in Cork, with a multi-agency delegation travelling to Portugal in 2023 to see such facilities in operation.

Ireland's first supervised injection facility opened in Dublin last year and has already had over 300 visits by some 108 clients — 85% of which were men aged 25 to 44.

Such is the extent of the opioid problem in Cork, the city's fire service crews have recently begun carrying naloxone — a medication to reduce the effects of opioids — to help respond to overdoses.