Activities of Irish psychiatric units and hospitals 2010,the annual report published by the Mental Health Information Systems Unit of the Health Research Board, shows that the total number of admissions to inpatient care has continued to fall.1

In 2010, 966 cases were admitted to psychiatric facilities with a drug disorder, of whom 412 were treated for the first time.  Since 2006 there has been a continuous increase in the rate of first admission of cases with a diagnosis of a drug disorder. The report does not present data on drug use and psychiatric co-morbidity, so it is not possible to determine whether or not these admissions were appropriate. Figure 2 presents the rates of first admission between 1990 and 2010 of cases with a diagnosis of drug disorder.  

Other notable statistics on first admissions for a drug disorder in 2010 include: