Vol. 469 No. 2
30 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Health the number of deaths from the abuse of illegal drugs from 1 January 1995 to date in 1996; the nature of the substance in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12903/96]
Limerick East): There are no accurate data on the total number of deaths from illegal drug misuse. Central Statistics Office figures — provisional — for drug related deaths in 1995 provide details on the number of deaths which were drug related, but they do not always differentiate between legal and illegal drugs. In addition, in some cases, death certificates issued by medical practitioners may list the clinical cause of death, rather than the circumstances which led to the death, which will not then be recorded in the “drug related deaths” category.
Provisional figures supplied by the Central Statistics Office show that in 1995 15 deaths were caused by morphine type drugs, five by barbiturate type, one by cannabis, one by hallucinogens, and two by psychostimulants, which include ecstasy. There are, as yet, no figures available for 1996. The Health Research Board, in compiling these figures, will be working closely with the Central Statistics Office and other agencies in an attempt to produce more definitive information.
