The number of women seeking treatment for cocaine use has increased almost seven-fold over the past nine years, new figures show.The Health Research Board (HRB) on Wednesday published a report on drug treatment demand in 2025, during which 15,422 treatment cases were delivered. The HRB says a “case” refers to a treatment episode and not one person, meaning a person could be counted more than once in a calendar year if they had more than one treatment episode during that time.Cocaine continues to be Ireland’s most common drug to be treated, excluding alcohol, and accounts for 42 per cent of all drug treatment. This represents a 24 per cent increase on 2024 and the highest number recorded to date.Since 2017 there has been a 336 per cent increase in cases receiving treatment for cocaine as their main problem drug, from 1,500 to 6,535.[ Cocaine and Irish women: ‘I’m a wife. I’m a mother. I have a career. I’m a user’Opens in new window ]The number of women seeking treatment for cocaine has increased almost seven-fold from 284 in 2017 to 1,912 in 2025. Year-on-year demand for treatment for powder cocaine increased by 21 per cent (834 cases) in 2025 and for crack cocaine by 31 per cent (412 cases).Profiles of people seeking treatment for powder and crack cocaine differ, the HRB report found.Where powder cocaine was the main problem drug, more than one in five cases were women, 38 per cent were employed, and the median age entering treatment was 32. [ Drug-related intimidation on the rise, with most incidents linked to cocaine useOpens in new window ]Where crack cocaine was the main problem drug, two in five were women, 5 per cent were employed, and the median age entering treatment was 40. Researchers noted that social disadvantage remains a “persistent feature of treatment demand”, with a substantial proportion of cases experiencing unemployment and homelessness.Dr Gráinne Gorman, HRB chief executive, said the latest data is “further indication of the continued dominance of cocaine use in Irish society”.Gorman said it also represents “increased investment in publicly funded drug treatment services, meaning they are available to more people that are struggling with problem drug use”.“Furthermore, our report shows the emergence of some new trends, with rising treatment rates for new psychoactive substances and ketamine.”Treatment demand for new psychoactive substances (NPS) rose 50 per cent in 2025, representing an increase from 170 cases in 2024 to 256 last year.Treatment demand for ketamine also continued to increase in 2025, with 334 cases of problem use reported. This represents a 12-fold increase in ketamine cases recorded since 2017 (27 cases).In 2025, 130 cases identified ketamine as their main problem drug, which is more than double the number in 2024 (57 cases).Polydrug use remains common, with almost two-thirds of cases reporting the use of more than one substance. Cannabis, cocaine, alcohol and benzodiazepines were the most frequently reported additional drugs. Dr Anne Marie Carew, senior researcher at the HRB, said some findings are similar year on year but there are also “early signals of emerging drug trends, particularly for new psychoactive substances and ketamine”.“While numbers are still small, these trends are important and will be closely monitored. Identifying emerging trends like this really demonstrates the sensitivity of the data we collect in the HRB and its importance for policymakers and service planners to understand and effectively treat the changing face of problem drug use in Irish society.”