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FSI has a role in monitoring significant changes in the volume and type of drugs that are available in the Irish drugs market. As a member of Ireland’s Early Warning and Emerging Trends Working Group, FSI notifies the Irish authorities and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) of any new drug substances or unusual presentations detected in Ireland. The mission of the EUDA is to strengthen EU preparedness on drugs through four key interconnected service categories: anticipate, alert, respond and learn. In 2024 FSI detected and notified the Irish and European authorities of ten instances of new substances or unusual presentations of drugs in the Irish market.

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Cocaine was the most commonly identified stimulant in Ireland across the period examined and the second most commonly identified compound after cannabis. Figure 3 illustrates the annual average cocaine content with levels remaining broadly consistent at both street and importation level over the 8 year period examined. The importation level content is consistently higher than the average at street level. Of all analytes examined, cocaine demonstrates the widest variety in adulterants. Benzocaine was the most commonly detected adulterant in 2023 followed by levamisole, caffeine and procaine. The largest cocaine seizure in 2023 was 2.25 tonnes seized by a joint task force operation (Customs, the Naval Service and An Garda Síochána) from the Panamanian cargo vessel MV Matthew off the south-east coast in September 2023.