CLOSE TO 8,200 cases were treated for problem alcohol use last year, according to figures from the Health Research Board (HRB).

A total of 8,163 such cases were treated last year, the highest figure since 2012, when 8,609 cases treated for problem alcohol use were reported.

Last year’s figures are also a 10% increase on 2022, when 7,421 cases were treated for problem alcohol use.

HRB Chief Executive Dr Mairéad O’Driscoll noted that alcohol continues to be the drug that most people seek treatment for.

She said that by “monitoring demand for treatment and which drugs people mix with alcohol we can identify changes in behaviour over time”.

The HRB said the data from its National Drug Treatment Reporting System will assist policy makers, service planners and public health practitioners to develop appropriate responses to problem alcohol use in the future.

Among cases seeking treatment for alcohol use for the first-time last year, 61% were classified as alcohol dependent.

Alcohol dependence is described by the World Health Organisation as a “strong desire to consume alcohol, impaired control over use, and persistent drinking in spite of harmful consequences”.

The WHO definition added that “a higher priority is given to alcohol than any other activities or obligations”.

Meanwhile, the number of cases where alcohol use was classified as “hazardous” or “harmful” stood at 35%.

Among those who consumed alcohol in the 30 days prior to treatment, just over half (51.5%) had consumed alcohol daily over the previous seven years.

In many cases, people who sought treatment for problem alcohol use were drinking more in a typical day than is outlined for a week based on HSE low risk guidelines.

Females were drinking, on average, more than two bottles of wine in a typical drinking session (15 standard drinks), while males were drinking on average nine pints of beer or over a half litre of spirts in a typical drinking session (18 standard drinks).

Six in ten cases that presented for problem alcohol use last year were male, and almost one-in-twelve cases were homeless.

Close to half were recorded as unemployed, while one-in-three cases were in paid employment.

Among parents with children aged 17 years or under, more than half (51%) had at least one child residing with them at the time of they entered treatment. 

The HRB research said that a “typical case male” that presented last year was likely to be unemployed and in their early forties, while females entering treatment were likely to be mid-forties, close to half were unemployed and more than half live with children under 17.

Dr Suzi Lyons, Senior Researcher at the HRB, also noted a “concerning” increase in the proportion of cases using other drugs with alcohol.  

She said that “mixing drugs complicates treatment and can impede recovery”.

One in four cases of problem alcohol use last year reported using another drug along with alcohol. 

Cocaine was the most common additional drug used alongside alcohol – in 1,310 cases – followed by cannabis, benzodiazepines, and opioids.

The report from the HRB’s National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) also looks at trends in treatment for the seven-year period from 2017 to 2023. 

The number of problem alcohol cases also reporting problem usage of cocaine doubled between 2017 and 2023, from 607 in 2017 to 1,310 cases last year.

The proportion of cases reporting polydrug use – where a person is taking more than one drug at the same time – also increased from one in five in 2017 to one in four in 2023.