Drug use: The number of people being treated for problem drug use outside the greater Dublin area has risen dramatically in recent years, new figures show.
While numbers treated for use of drugs such as heroin fell in Dublin between 1998 and 2002, they rose three-fold in most of the rest of the country.
Overall, the new report from the Health Research Board (HRB) found that prevalence of people treated for problem drug use in Ireland rose by 27 per cent, from 225 per 100,000 people in 1998, to 287 per 100,000 in 2002.
Dr Jean Long, senior researcher at the HRB, said the increase outside the greater Dublin area may reflect an increase in availability of treatment services and drug use, while the decrease in the capital may reflect smaller numbers of new heroin users.
The lower number of new heroin or opiate users in Dublin may reflect a saturation of vulnerable communities in Dublin, a switch to drugs such as cocaine, or other factors not yet identified.
By county, the rates of problem drug use varied. The highest rates were in Carlow, Dublin and Waterford, followed by Cork, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Sligo, Tipperary and Limerick.
With the exception of Sligo, the incidence rates were lowest in western counties.
Opiates, such as heroin, and cannabis were the main problem drugs reported by new cases in greater Dublin, the midlands and the north-eastern region (Meath, Louth, Monaghan and Cavan), while cannabis and ecstasy were the main cases in the south, south-east and west.
Almost one in five of all new cases treated were under 18 years of age, while only 3 per cent of cases treated previously were in this young age group.
Young teenagers tended to initiate drug use with cannabis and volatile inhalants. The use of opiates, ecstasy and amphetamines tended to commence in mid- to late teens.
The social profile of drug users was one of poor education and higher-than-average unemployment.
The number of treated cases who reported leaving school early was higher among previously treated cases (29 per cent) than among new cases (21 per cent).
Employment levels among treated cases aged 16-64 years were much lower than those in the general population: for example, 31 per cent of new cases treated were employed and 24 per cent of previously treated cases were employed.
For new cases, the highest rates of employment were among those using drugs commonly associated with social events, such as ecstasy and cocaine.
The lowest rates of employment were among those who used opiates and benzodiazepines.
This trend, along with the high rates of early school leaving, has important implications for the social and occupational reintegration of such users, the report's authors note.