Cocaine treatment rates catching up on alcohol in Kildare's health region

COCAINE (36%) is fast catching up on alcohol (40%) as the primary drug of choice in Kildare’s health region, which includes Dublin, Wicklow and Meath.

This was revealed in the mid-year statistics report from the Coolmine Therapeutic Community, Irelands drug and alcohol treatment service.

This report offers a comprehensive overview of addiction treatment trends across Ireland. The data also highlights persistent high demand for services and evolving patterns in substance use and gender representation.

Alcohol continues to be the leading substance for which individuals seek treatment, accounting for 40 per cent of all presentations to Coolmine services to date in 2025.

This represents a slight increase from 37 per cent during the same period in 2024.

Cocaine follows at 31 per cent nationally, a figure that jumps to 36 per cent for the Mid East health region.

Nationally, heroin (8%), cannabis (11%), and benzodiazepines (9%) also feature prominently.

Alcohol is the most common substance in the South-West (53%) and Mid-West (34%).

"This report provides an important insight into the ongoing addiction challenges across the country.” noted Pauline McKeown, CEO of Coolmine.

“Alcohol and cocaine remain the most prominent substances for which people are seeking help, and demand for our services—especially for women and families—remains incredibly high”.

A total of 1,969 clients accessed treatment and support through Coolmine in the first half of 2025—virtually unchanged from the record-setting demand experienced in 2024, suggesting that elevated service levels have become the new norm for addiction treatment in Ireland.

Nationally, 57 per cent of clients were male and 43 per cent female, reflecting an increase in female engagement compared to 2024.

Currently, 305 families are supported across all services in 2025, 35 children currently reside with a parent in treatment, while 1,794 children were directly impacted by parental substance use and received support.

Coolmine’s residential services continue to operate at full capacity, reflecting sustained demand for structured, long-term recovery supports.

A significant portion of this demand is linked to housing and emergency accommodation, reflecting wider trends reported by homeless support organisations.

McKeown added: “The sustained pressure on our residential and outreach services shows the scale of need we are responding to every day. We are seeing more people, from more backgrounds, reaching out for support.”