RISING TREATMENT DEMAND PUTTING ADDICTION SERVICES UNDER PRESSURE, RUTLAND CENTRE HIGHLIGHTS IN NEW ANNUAL REPORT
National figures record 24,220 drug and alcohol treatment episodes in 2025, while almost two-thirds of Rutland clients reported multiple addictions
2025 AT A GLANCE:
· National treatment demand: The HRB recorded 15,422 drug-treatment cases, excluding alcohol, and 8,798 alcohol-treatment cases.
· Multiple addictions: 64% of Rutland clients reported two or more addictions; 37% of that group reported three or more.
· Residential activity: 5,545 bed nights were delivered in 2025, up 16% since 2021, with numbers increasing every year over the period.
· Treatment completion: 98% residential and 81% outpatient.
· Fully funded access: Nearly one-quarter of treatment episodes delivered at the Centre are now fully funded through the HSE Tier 4 referral scheme.
· Recovery following relapse: 52% of those who entered the stabilisation programme completed it and returned to mainstream continuing care
Dublin, 19 August 2026 – The Rutland Centre, which provides detoxification, residential, outpatient and continuing-care services for people affected by substance and behavioural addictions, today published its Annual Report 2025, highlighting growing pressure on treatment services as national demand rises and people present with increasingly complex and multiple addictions.
The report shows that almost two-thirds (64%) of those admitted to the Centre’s residential and outpatient programmes reported two or more addictions, while 37% of that group reported three or more.
The findings come as the latest Health Research Board data recorded 15,422 treatment cases for problem drug use, excluding alcohol, in 2025 – an increase of 2,127, or 16%, on 2024. Separate HRB data recorded 8,798 alcohol-treatment cases, the highest annual total in the nine-year period reported.
Publishing its Annual Report ahead of Budget 2027, the Rutland Centre said treatment capacity and long-term recovery supports must continue to develop in response to changing demand.
Maebh Mullany, Chief Executive of the Rutland Centre, said: “The national data and our own experience point in the same direction: demand is rising and people are presenting with increasingly complex needs. Here at The Rutland Centre, we are already operating close to capacity, and access could become more difficult unless treatment capacity keeps pace.
“At the same time, our outcomes show what can be achieved when people access the right treatment. Our new detoxification service is already providing an important pathway into longer-term care, with one-third of residential admissions in the first half of 2026 coming through the service. Budget 2027 provides an opportunity to build on the progress made with the support of the HSE and health insurers through sustained funding for treatment, staffing and long-term recovery supports.
Addiction presentations becoming more complex
The Rutland Centre’s Annual Report shows that alcohol was reported as problematic by 59% of admissions in 2025, other substances by 44% and cocaine by 40%. Gambling was cited by 15%, sex and/or pornography by 13%, and food or eating by 9%. As clients could report more than one addiction, these categories overlap.
This complexity is also evident nationally. Almost one in three alcohol-treatment cases recorded by the HRB in 2025 involved problem use of another drug. Among those cases, cocaine was the most common additional drug, reported in 72%.
Emma Kavanagh, Head of Clinical Services at the Rutland Centre, said: “People rarely arrive with one issue in isolation. We are increasingly treating co-morbid problems involving alcohol, cocaine, other substances and behavioural addictions, often alongside trauma, mental-health concerns and significant pressure within families.
“Treatment must be able to respond to the whole person rather than addressing each problem separately. That requires specialist clinical expertise and a range of treatment options that can meet people at different stages of addiction and recovery.”
Strong outcomes when people can access treatment
Against this complex backdrop, the Rutland Centre reported a 98% completion rate for its residential programme and an 81% completion rate for its outpatient programme in 2025.
Of those who entered the Centre’s stabilisation programme following relapse, 52% completed the programme and returned to mainstream continuing care. More than half of those entering stabilisation completed the programme and returned to mainstream continuing care.
Widening access to treatment
The Centre delivered 5,545 residential bed nights in 2025, an increase of 16% since 2021, with numbers rising each year over the five-year period.
A major development during the year was the opening of a new five-bed medical detoxification unit for alcohol and cocaine. The unit opened in October 2025 and provides a medically supervised route to abstinence for people who need detoxification from alcohol or cocaine before beginning primary treatment. All clients in its initial cohort completed detoxification.
The Centre also continued to improve access for people who could not otherwise afford residential treatment. Nearly one-quarter of all treatment episodes delivered at the Centre are now fully funded through the HSE Tier 4 referral scheme. The number of clients treated through Tier 4 beds has doubled over the past five years.
In June 2026, the Rutland Centre extended its intensive ten-week outpatient programme beyond Dublin for the first time, opening a service in Athlone for people across the Midlands and West. The programme allows participants to remain at home and, where possible, continue working, studying and meeting family responsibilities while completing treatment.
The Rutland Centre Annual Report 2025 is available here - https://www.rutlandcentre.ie/
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Media contact: Astrid Brennan | M: 086 215 4883
Notes to editors
The figures relating to the Rutland Centre are drawn from its Annual Report 2025. Addiction-presentation percentages cover admissions to its residential and outpatient programmes. Clients could identify more than one substance or behaviour as problematic, so percentages can total more than 100%.
The HRB National Drug Treatment Reporting System records treatment episodes, described as cases, rather than unique individuals. A person may be counted more than once if they had more than one treatment episode during the year. The combined figure of 24,220 is the sum of the separately reported drug-treatment cases, excluding alcohol, and alcohol-treatment cases.
The Rutland Centre provides residential, outpatient, detoxification, continuing care, family recovery and intervention services for people affected by substance and behavioural addictions.
Links to data
HRB, Drug Treatment Demand in Ireland 2025: report and data
HRB, Alcohol Treatment Demand in Ireland 2025: report and data