Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2007
181 Deputy Jan O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of deaths attributed to overdoses or abuse of illicit drugs in respect of each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25782/07]
View answerThe General Mortality Register, the main source of information on drug-related deaths prior to the establishment of the National Drug Related Deaths Index in 2005, shows that the number of direct drug-related deaths was 113 in 2000; 93 in 2001; 90 in 2002; 96 in 2003; and 112 in 2004 — the latest year for which data are available. Direct drug related deaths refer to those due to intentional or unintentional overdose. The figure of 113 such deaths in 2000 represents a decrease on the 122 recorded in 1999. Sixty percent (60%) of the direct drug related deaths between 2001 and 2004 were as a result of opiate overdose.
The statistics in the General Mortality Register are collected by the Central Statistics Office which measures — as it is required to do — direct drug-related deaths based on an international classification system. It does not have a reliable measure of deaths which are indirectly related to drug use and so does not provide the full picture of drug-related deaths. For example a death through an infectious disease contracted through drug use may not feature in the General Mortality Register as drug-related.
To remedy these limitations, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform jointly asked the Alcohol and Drug Research Unit of the Health Research Board to establish and maintain a National Drug-Related Deaths Index.
This index was established to comply with Action 67 of ‘Building on Experience: National Drug Strategy 2001-2008'. The index is a census of drug and alcohol-related deaths and deaths among substance users in Ireland which is one of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's (EMCDDA) key indicators to measure the consequences of the drug situation. The data for the Index are drawn from a number of sources including the General Mortality Register; the Coroner's Service; the Hospital In-patient Enquiry (HIPE); and the Central TreatmentList.
A committee, co-chaired by the two above-mentioned Departments, provides general and technical advice on the development of the index. The first publication from the index is scheduled for 2008.
