Number of people caught using drugs for their own personal use in Ireland soars

New figures released by the Justice Minister Helen McEntee show there was a substantial increase in the number of drug charges in three out of four of the Garda regions over the past five years

The number of people caught using drugs for their own personal use in Ireland has soared.

New figures released by the Justice Minister Helen McEntee show there was a substantial increase in the number of drug charges in three out of four of the Garda regions over the past five years.

The biggest increase was 74.25 per cent in the Eastern Region, 54 per cent in the Dublin region, and 28.7 per cent in the Southern region. There was no change in the North-Western region.

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A total of 4,295 charges for possession of a controlled drug were issued in the capital last year - up 1027 in 2022.

There was a year-on-year increase for 2023 of 282 in the Eastern region, 34 in the Northwest and 13 in the Southern region. The data was obtained from the Garda Pulse System on February 16 last.

The figures relate to charges rather than unique individuals, as some people may have been accused of a number of drug offences.

The Minister was responding to a parliamentary question from Gino Kenny TD from the People Before Profit party.

She said: “The Government is committed to limiting access to illegal drugs to the greatest extent possible. The significant increase in resources in recent years has allowed the Garda Commissioner to increase the number of Gardaí assigned to specialist drugs unit by 47pc since the end of December 2018.

“There are drug units in every Garda division. I am Informed by the Garda authorities that charges for possession of a controlled drug for personal use have risen in 2023 in three out of the four Garda regions since 2019.

“I am further advised that, in this time, charges for this offence have risen from 2,789 to 4,295 in the Dublin Region, from 967 to 1685 in the Eastern Region, and from 872 to 1,123 in the Southern Region.

“When compared with 2019, there has been no increase for this offence in the North West Region in 2033.

“While I am concerned to see this increase, it is important to note that an individual may be charged multiple times for the same offence during a given year.

“We must also recognise that it also reflects the increased Garda numbers on frontline policing duties and the concentrated work of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau.”

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