On the 9th of November 2023, the HSE National Social Inclusion Office was notified of overdoses of concern occurring in homeless settings in Inner City Dublin, which triggered an urgent review across a number of information sources to identify possible signals of change on the Dublin drug market.

Data was monitored by the HSE from the 9th– 12th November which was the main period where overdose clusters were reported. A total of 57 non-fatal overdoses were recorded during this period. Analysis by Forensic Science Ireland of a sample obtained by Gardai on the evening of the 10th of confirmed the emergence of nitazenes in a light brown/sandy coloured powder on the Dublin heroin market which resulted in the HSE issuing a Red Alert for the City. This was later confirmed as N-Pyrrolidino protonitazene which was a first identification for Ireland and a substance which is under intensive monitoring by the EU Drugs Agency as of the 11th December 2023.

In addition to the initial Dublin outbreak, nitazenes have since been detected on the Cork market following a steady increase of overdoses in the City. As of the 12th of December, there was 13 non-fatal overdoses reported to the HSE over a 6 day period. This outbreak has been attributed to the same nitazene (N-Pyrrolidino protonitazene) which was identified in Dublin...