Ireland is the worst EU country for drug deaths, suffering four times the average fatality rate

Ireland topped the EU table for drug deaths with more than four times the average number of fatalities, according to a new report by the EU drugs agency.

The European Drug Report 2024 shows that Ireland had 322 drug-induced deaths in 2020 — 97 deaths per million people, compared to the EU average of 22.5.

Ireland was ahead of Baltic and Nordic states, which, along with Ireland, traditionally have the highest rates. Estonia is in second place (95), followed by Norway (86).

Western European countries had far lower drug death rates than Ireland, including Germany (30), the Netherlands (26), Belgium (21), and Portugal (11).

The report, published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), also warns:

• A scarcity of heroin — expected later this year or early next year — is likely to be filled by far more powerful synthetic opioids such as nitazene which caused clusters of overdoses in Dublin and Cork late last year;
• There have been record seizures of cocaine in the EU for the sixth year in a row, with 323 tonnes confiscated in 2022, compared to 303 tonnes in 2021;
• There are growing concerns at the increasing strength of cannabis resin, the high-potency of cannabis extracts and edibles, including jellies, and the dangers posed by synthetic cannabinoids, the latter resulting in poisonings of children, including in Ireland.