Supervised drug facility could save many of Cork's problem drug users, UCC research claims
The authors of a report by researchers at University College Cork said cocaine overtook opioids as the main problem drug for those entering treatment in 2023. File picture
Many of the 35 people who are dying from problem drug use in Cork city each year could be saved with a supervised drug consumption facility, a HSE expert has claimed.
The annual death toll was revealed in a first of its kind report by researchers at University College Cork (UCC). They found there has been a “pronounced” increase in young adults using cocaine and amphetamines in Cork in recent years.
Their research also says a supervised facility could reduce the number of “open air drug dens” in the city.
During their research they found:
- around a third of opioid users – taking substances like heroin – remain unknown to treatment services.
- there were 859 problematic opioid users in the city
- there had been 487 self-harm presentations related to problem drug use by residents of the city in the space of three years
- the proportion of people aged 15-34 saying they had taken cocaine more than tripled in the space of five years
The authors said cocaine overtook opioids as the main problem drug for those entering treatment in 2023. Between 2019 and 2023, benzodiazepines were the main drug involved in non-fatal overdose cases in Cork city followed by opioids, with one opioid overdose happening each week on average.
This is the first report to assess the scale of the problem of drug use in an Irish city outside Dublin. It was commissioned by the HSE and local authorities in Cork and Kerry.
The HSE’s head of drugs and alcohol services in the region, David Lane, told the it vindicates the efforts being made to reach more people in their harm reduction services.
“There are few European cities of our size that have ever done anything like this,” Mr Lane said. “It’s a really important step for us.
“At the end of the day, this is about saving lives. There are 35 families every year in Cork city mourning the loss of a loved one. We may not save every one of those lives with a supervised injection or consumption facility, but many of them would be.”
The report discusses at length having a supervised injecting or consumption facility in Cork, in the wake of the first such facility opening in Dublin late last year.
It says that such a centre “might provide a connection point in the problem drug use harm reduction system for individuals who are not in treatment”.
“Other potential benefits to the local environment could be a reduction of drug-related litter in Cork city and the number of open-air ‘drug dens’,” it said.
However, the UCC researchers said any facility must be tailored and done in a way "that reflects the city and its unique needs". They noted that treatment data suggests a majority of problem drug users in Cork city are likely “not injecting drug users”, so that rather than a supervised injection facility, a supervised drug consumption facility may be better suited.
Mr Lane said there is support for such a facility among local authorities, the gardaí and the business community. “The vast majority say it’s taking too long and ask why it’s not up and running yet,” he said.
“But the research is done now saying drug use is a serious problem in Cork city. It’s there in black and white.”
He said the running costs for such supervised drug consumption facility would be in the region of €1.5m a year, and would also require a capital investment.
“It needs political support too,” Mr Lane added. “We’ve got a Taoiseach now from Cork there for the next three years so that's a massive opportunity from a political point of view. We have a new national drugs strategy this year, and had the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs last year.
“Timing can be everything. Now is the time to strike while the iron is hot.”
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