asked the Minister for Health the estimated number of drug addicts in this country; their average age; and the ratio of males to females.
Written Answers. - Drug Addicts.
284.
The number of drug addicts in this country is not known. In 1979, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 131 admissions, 75 male and 56 female, for drug addiction to psychiatric hospitals. Of these 51 (33 male, 18 female) were first admissions. In 1980, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 7,138 attendances by 1,425 patients at the Jervis Street Drug Advisory and Treatment Centre. This total included 521 new attenders. The figures available to me for the Jervis Street Centre are not differentiated on a sex basis.