Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 October 2022
189. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to reports (details supplied) of increasing misuse of fentanyl; the steps that his Department is taking to combat abuse of this drug and the expected rise in misuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53817/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Health and the HSE rely on a variety of sources to monitor drug trends. There have been no reports of increasing use of fentanyl.
The Early Warning Emerging Trends Committee is a sub-committee of the National Oversight Committee of the National Drugs Strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery 2017-2025. The sub-committee is chaired by the Department of Health and membership consists of a wide range of stakeholders including the Department of Health, the Department of Justice, Health Research Board, Revenue, An Garda Síochána, Forensic Science Ireland, State Laboratory, Hospitals, Medical Bureau of Road Safety, the HSE, the Health Products Regulatory Authority, academia and the voluntary sector. Among the functions of the committee is to receive, share and monitor on behalf of the Department of Health information on emerging trends and patterns in drug use particularly polydrug use and associated risks. Anyone with information on the use of fentanyl should share this with the committee.
The National Drug and Alcohol Survey (NDAS) collects information on alcohol and tobacco consumption and drug use among the general population in Ireland. The 2019–20 NDAS collected information from 5,762 people aged 15 years and older across Ireland. The survey included questions on the use of opioid relievers with only 0.02% of respondents reporting that they had used fentanyl.
The Irish National Drug-Related Deaths Index (NDRDI) is an epidemiological database which records cases of death by drug and alcohol poisoning, and deaths among people who use drugs and/or those who are alcohol dependent. The synthetic opioids most commonly implicated in deaths (alone or with other synthetic opioids and/or drugs) were methadone (76%), followed by tramadol (16%) and oxycodone (7%). Other drugs implicated, albeit very rarely, were fentanyl, buprenorphine, tapentadol and dextropropoxyphene.
The National Drugs Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) is the national epidemiological surveillance database that records and reports on treated problem drug and alcohol use in Ireland. Between 2017 and 2020, out of a total of 39,562 cases treated for drugs as a main problem, only 21 cases were treated for fentanyl as a main or additional problem.
In Budget 2023, I secured €4 million in new development funding to expand the provision of drug and alcohol services to meet changing patterns of drug use and emerging trends. This investment will expand community-based drug and alcohol services, ensure the sustainability and increase the capacity of residential treatment services, mitigate the impact of drugs on children, families and communities and strengthen drug monitoring and harm reduction.
