One person dies of drug overdose per day in Ireland, say groups

Drug overdoses lead to one death every day in Ireland according to reform advocates seeking a "greater urgency" from the Government on the issue.

On Tuesday, Merchants Quay Ireland and the National Family Support Network, both organisations that work with those affected by drug use, will submit a petition about the issue to Minister for Health Leo Varadkar.

They are requesting fast-tracked legislation that would sanction the use of Naloxone, a drug used to reverse the effects of overdoses, and for the development of a comprehensive “national overdose prevention strategy”.

The organisations have pointed to the approximate 365 cases of fatal overdoses every year in Ireland, a statistic that stands at almost twice that of fatal road crashes.

Tony Geoghegan, chief executive of Merchants Quay Ireland, said that while a national pilot scheme for Naloxone will see 600 people given the drug to use in the event of an overdose, it should become policy.

Sadie Grace, director of the support network, said the drug was commonplace in other European cities.

“Sadly, in many cases, these fatal drug overdoses may have been preventable if appropriate interventions were available. If this were occurring in any other sector it would cause a huge outcry,” she said.