Cocaine treatment last year saw a 24 percent increase on 2024, according to new figures published by the Health Research Board about drug treatment demand.
The HRB’s latest annual figures reveal that cocaine continues to be Ireland’s most common drug for which treatment is sought (excluding alcohol), accounting for almost half (42 percent) of all drug treatment cases last year.
In 2025, there were 15,422 cases treated for “problem drug use” in Ireland.
A “case” refers to a treatment episode rather than to a single person, meaning that the same person could be counted more than once a year if they had multiple treatment episodes during the year.
There were 6,535 cocaine treatment cases last year, representing a 24 percent increase on 2024 (5,289 cases) and the highest number recorded to date.
Last year, treatment demand for both powder cocaine and crack cocaine increased by 21 percent (834 cases) and 31 percent (412 cases) respectively.
Cocaine, as has been the case in previous years, remains the number one “problem drug” for over half of cases who are new to treatment, and also accounted for more than one in three previously treated cases in 2025 (3,421 cases).
HRB Chief Executive, Dr Gráinne Gorman said that the new report is “further indication of the continued dominance of cocaine use in Irish society”.
There has been a 336 percent increase in cases receiving treatment for cocaine as the main problem drug since 2017, during which period treatment demand for powder cocaine increased by 282 percent, and treatment demand for crack cocaine increased by 906 percent.
Females seeking treatment for cocaine has surged from 284 cases in 2017 to 1,912 cases in 2025, an almost seven-fold increase in just under a decade.
Dr Gorman also noted some new trends, such as “rising treatment rates for new psychoactive substances and ketamine”.
The HRB found that treatment demand for new psychoactive substances (NPS) rose by 50 percent last year, representing an increase from 170 cases in 2024 to 256 in 2025.
NPS treatment cases have also seen an almost six-fold increase since 2020 (43 cases), the organisation said.
Meanwhile, ketamine treatment demand saw 334 cases of problem use reported, a twelve-fold increase in ketamine cases since 2017 (27 cases).
130 of the 334 ketamine treatment cases identified ketamine as their main problem drug last year, more than double the number seen in 2024 (57 cases).
Over half of the cases commencing treatment for the problem use of nitrous oxide last year were dealing with those aged 17 or under.