Cocaine and crack cocaine are spreading across Ireland — and not just in the capital Dublin, but in more rural areas as well. How did this happen, and what is being done to combat it?
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00:00We're on O'Connell Bridge, right in the middle of Dublin, where we witness what appears
00:11to be a drug deal.
00:16Drugs have become more prevalent in Ireland.
00:21According to a UN report, the country ranks fourth in the world for cocaine use per capita.
00:28Everybody's doing it, like, don't just think it's the nightlife doing it.
00:34The way cocaine is nowadays, it's just like having a Sunday dinner.
00:38Who is nanny?
00:40You don't know.
00:42We want to find out how did Ireland end up here, and what's being done to change things.
00:58We're in Darnedale, one of the most disadvantaged communities in Dublin.
01:09This district has a reputation for drugs, violence and crime.
01:14We've been advised not to walk through the area alone, so as not to put our personal
01:18safety at risk.
01:21Here it's common to find families living next to drug dealers and addicts.
01:26Crack houses are sometimes raided by the police.
01:31Locals tell us people come from all over to buy drugs here.
01:38Cars pull into the cul-de-sac for a few minutes, then drive away.
01:54Daniel Jones and his colleague are social workers from the organisation The Dales.
01:59They make several rounds here every day.
02:03We have carried people's coffins who have died, who have never made it.
02:08It's really hard, but there's no such thing as a hopeless addict.
02:11There's hope for them all.
02:15So what we do, really, every morning, we come out in the morning when it's really busy,
02:21and there'll be a lot of people over in the clinic, going to the clinic for their methadone,
02:24and there'll be a lot of people over there looking to scar drugs and so on.
02:27So we just make ourselves, we're supposed to be present on the street and let people
02:31see us.
02:32Corley, watch the crack.
02:33You don't have to be on this camera now if you don't want to.
02:36Don't put me on no bleeding camera, I'm not bad enough, I'm not as hideous as it is.
02:43Both social workers do community outreach work, helping where they can.
02:48Their red jackets make them stand out, and they're often the first point of contact for
02:52anyone looking for a way out of addiction.
02:55Well, it's hard in the area because of the drugs situation, you know what I mean?
03:01It's hard to try and get your life together, but I'm doing well at the moment, you know?
03:06I'm cleaning myself at the moment, I was linked in with the Dales in Darndale.
03:10Well, it's just the drug situation that's bad, you know, at the moment.
03:14I suppose it's like that everywhere, you know?
03:17Jones knows the scene well.
03:19He also struggled with drug addiction for years.
03:22In Darndale, crack is one of the biggest issues.
03:28It's definitely harder when it's on your doorstep, when you're walking out your door, and you're
03:33not trying your best, and you're trying to get clean, you're trying to stay clean, you're
03:37trying to stay focused, and you walk out and it's just in your face 24-7.
03:43It's more of a challenge.
03:47Darndale has been struggling with poverty, crime and drug problems for generations.
03:53How can the cycle be broken?
03:58This community training centre is located in the heart of Darndale, where young people
04:03from the area are given a second chance to get an education.
04:07My name is Trina O'Connor.
04:08I work with young people between the age of 16 and 21.
04:11I'm also a criminologist.
04:15This is the receptionist's desk, and you can see we have manicures going on, we have blow-drying
04:21going on, we have some rollers being set.
04:24Here students are learning about beauty and hairdressing.
04:28Some have traumatic pasts caused by growing up in an area where crime and drugs are a
04:33part of their everyday lives, and even their families.
04:37The centre allows young people to finish their education while gaining real-world experience.
04:42In return, they receive a salary.
04:46Hairdressing training exams are being held today.
04:49A small step towards a brighter future.
04:53Clients from the local community are here to help them practice.
04:56I'm a doctor, I worked here years ago.
05:01Really?
05:02Yeah.
05:03I've done great.
05:04And what do you do now?
05:05I'm a beautician now.
05:06It's time to use the train, isn't it?
05:07Well, you know, the thing about life is, finding what you like doing and then getting
05:12somebody to pay you to do it.
05:14Like, that's the key to it, isn't it, you know?
05:18Creating opportunities for young people who might not have had them otherwise.
05:22Trina O'Connor is convinced the work she's doing here is key to breaking the cycle of
05:26violence and poverty in Darndale, and others agree with her.
05:30It's brilliant, it's great for the community and it's great for the kids, you know.
05:35It keeps you away from just doing all the bad things that people around here do, you
05:40know.
05:41I've realised that, like, I do like doing beauty and hair, and I'm going to continue
05:45that on in college for another year.
05:49And there's more on offer than beauty and hairdressing.
05:53In this course, young people learn woodworking.
05:57A few lads have gone on to apprenticeships as plumbers and carpenters, so it gives them
06:02a bit of self-belief that they can go and do it, and that's really what my job is, I
06:07think.
06:08This building site will soon be a new classroom.
06:11Students are constructing a barbershop here under supervision, and the waiting list for
06:14the new barbering course is already full.
06:18I have not met one young person that is beyond help.
06:24Therefore, when they have this education, it gives them an opportunity to have choices
06:30in life.
06:31Oh, something smells lovely, what's that?
06:36Trina O'Connor is convinced that education is key to creating sustainable change in Darndale.
06:42For many students, the Discovery Training Centre offers more than just a second shot
06:46at education.
06:47It's also a safe space.
06:50I've seen, you know, drug addiction, violence, I've seen people running around with knives.
06:57I myself have had several encounters with guns being pulled, with knives being pulled.
07:02So the opportunity to come here and to learn something and to be took out of that hostile
07:07environment is a great opportunity because it keeps young people off the streets, it
07:12keeps them out of crime.
07:17Many people in Ireland are calling it a drug epidemic.
07:21Since 2017, the number of cocaine users in Ireland has doubled.
07:26For crack cocaine, it's increased six-fold.
07:35While both drugs are made from the same base substance, crack is mostly consumed by people
07:41living in precarious conditions.
07:43Cocaine, considered more of a party drug, is popular among Ireland's affluent middle
07:48and upper classes.
07:49There are few countries where cocaine use is as high as in Ireland.
07:53According to the UN, Ireland ranks fourth behind Australia, the Netherlands and Spain.
07:59Author and crime journalist Nicola Talent has been observing a surge in drug use across
08:03Ireland for years.
08:05Who isn't consuming cocaine is more the question really because it seems to have been a drug
08:12that has traversed all age groups.
08:14It's an acceptable recreational product.
08:17But why Ireland?
08:20According to Talent, there are a few factors.
08:22On one hand, many people have money to spend.
08:24On the other hand, deeply rooted societal traumas and alcoholism also play a role.
08:31The other reason is I think by nature the Irish like to party.
08:35We like to have fun.
08:36We like to go out.
08:37We like to stay up talking and of course cocaine can help people continue the party longer
08:43so it's become very popular.
08:45Especially in nightlife where we're told the drug can be found everywhere.
08:49I wouldn't say that Dublin has a cocaine problem, I'd say it's everywhere in Ireland.
08:57I used to work in a restaurant so I used to find a lot of the bags in the toilets and
09:02all that.
09:03It's definitely an issue, yeah.
09:05Yeah the farmers take cocaine a lot to be fair.
09:08I think it's more so underground.
09:10In small towns there's a lot more cocaine abuse.
09:14Everybody's doing it.
09:15I just think it's the nightlife doing it, it could be your best friend, it could be
09:18someone that you know very well doing it.
09:21The way cocaine is nowadays it's just like having a Sunday dinner.
09:25Who isn't on it?
09:26You don't know.
09:27But where are the drugs coming from?
09:43If you see that your borders aren't being protected then people will take advantage
09:49of that.
09:50We are a sovereign state, we have a security issue and we need to protect that.
09:55Patrick Murphy is a fishing representative in the port town of Castletown Bear.
10:00Fishing boats from all over Europe unload their cargo here.
10:04I've never seen an operation to check is there drugs coming into the harbour.
10:08We had more stringent controls for Covid than we do for narcotics.
10:13Murphy says Ireland's fishing industry is in a desperate situation.
10:17Over the course of a single year 20% of their boats were pushed out of the market.
10:22He says the fishing industry's economic crisis also poses a safety risk.
10:27Last year suspected drug smugglers legally purchased a boat in this harbour.
10:31It's linked to one of the biggest drug busts in Irish history.
10:35All I know is that there's more drugs now in Europe and everywhere else than there ever
10:38was before.
10:39It has to be coming in some way and I believe that we have a weakness in our coastline.
10:48The Irish military recently procured two new Airbus C295 maritime surveillance aircrafts.
10:55These airplanes carry out long range patrols at sea.
10:59Anti-drug operations are part of their mission profile.
11:05According to media reports only one of eight Irish Navy ships was operational at the beginning
11:10of the year.
11:12One ship responsible for patrolling nearly 1 million square kilometres of sea and 3,000
11:18kilometres of coastline.
11:23When asked about how many ships are currently operational the Irish military refused to
11:28comment citing security concerns.
11:36Social worker Daniel Jones started using hard drugs at the age of 15.
11:41For over 20 years he was trapped in a vicious cycle of drug use and crime heading in and
11:46out of prison.
11:51Today he wants to show people living with addiction that anyone can find a way out.
11:57It's trying to learn how to change the type in your mind and trying to put positive thoughts
12:04into your head instead of the negative thoughts and if you can't do that look for support
12:08and being able to look on the brighter side I think.
12:13Daniel has put up these posters everywhere to bring a bit of positivity and colour to
12:18Darndale.
12:19He says sometimes the only thing people need is a bit of hope.