Cork and Tipperary are the counties with the highest incidence of drug related intimidation, outside of Dublin, according to new figures published by a national agency dedicated to supporting victims of such crimes.

The National DRIVE Project report was released in recent days, showing 1,027 cases of drug related intimidation (DRI) reported across the country from 2024 to 2025. It is understood the true figure is much higher, but reporting remains low due to fear of reprisals, stigma, and limited awareness of supports.

DRI affects families and communities throughout rural Ireland with an exclusive investigation by Irish Country Living in March revealing that drug gangs in rural areas are making more money from intimidation than the sale of drugs.

The National DRIVE Project report is the first time data has been collected through the National Drug Treatment Reporting System, within the Health Research Board, related specifically to DRI.

Speaking to Irish Country Living, Siobhán Maher, national DRIVE co-ordinator, says the figures supported the agency’s findings that drug intimidation is rife throughout urban and rural areas.

“The issue of drug intimidation is being raised by drug and alcohol taskforces all over the country.

There are 24 in total that are funded through the Department of Health via the Minister of State responsible for National Drug Strategy Jennifer Murnane O’Connor,” she explains.

Concerns of coercion

“There is huge fear, shame and stigma surrounding drug intimidation which means drug debts are being paid and dealers keep coming back.”

The report findings suggest DRI is most prevalent in the northeast region, with 302 cases reported in an area taking in Cavan, Monaghan, Louth, Meath and north Dublin. Towards the midlands, a total of 229 cases were reported across Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Laois, Kildare, west Wicklow and west Dubin. While the southeastern region saw 186 cases reported, the western counties of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo and Galway had the lowest incidence with 69 cases recorded.

According to the report, intimidation ranged from verbal threats and property damage to physical violence, coercion into drug distribution, and sexual exploitation. Those who use drugs were not the only ones impacted by DRI with family members, partners and the wider community also impacted by this criminal activity. The tendency for victims to try to deal with the issue in silence, contributes to the isolation felt and the normalisation of such violence in many cases.

A breakdown of the types of drugs linked to DRI found cocaine the most common (59%) followed by cannabis (14%) opioids, mainly heroin (8%) and benzodiazepines (4%). While the majority of referrals came from drug users, a fifth of cases were reported by affected family members.

The DRIVE Project was established in 2020 to reduce the incidents of DRI and create safety and healthier communities by reducing the harm caused by drug-related violence.

“DRIVE offers a menu of options from family supports for parents whose children have run up drug debt, to youth supports for other children in a family who are affected by DRI and drug and alcohol supports for the addict affected,” says Siobhán.

Fishermen selling vessels

“A nominated garda inspector, who is trained by DRIVE, gives people the option of speaking to them informally in the first instance, where all information shared is confidential and is not recorded. This inspector can bring in crime prevention officers to advise people on safety.

“Or the person can make a formal complaint and seek the garda’s assistance to take the matter further. Often that first off- the-record conversation is the first time people are saying it out loud and the act of getting it off their chest can often give them the courage and the confidence to take that next step to a formal complaint.

“Farmers, fishermen and women, and families in agricultural businesses are all falling victim to this crime. We’ve had reports of fishermen selling their vessels to clear the debts of family members.

“We have 73 trainers across the country training frontline workers to become ‘brief advisers’ who can signpost people to DRIVE. These are people working in primary care centres, GP practice staff, community gardaí and post office staff. There’s been a huge increase in dealers escorting people to the post office and going in with them while they withdraw money to pay the debt, so our training will help staff recognise the behaviours and offer support.

“It makes a huge difference once people reach out for help – they’re being heard and their concerns are being validated.”

The report also found that DRI was most common among males (58% or 601 cases reported) with the median age of those affected 35. The overwhelming majority identified as white Irish (92% or 943), with other ethnicities recorded including Irish Traveller (3% or 28), Black or Black Irish ( 2% or 17) and Roma (>10).

Accommodation data showed that approximately three-quarters of cases (74%) were living in stable accommodation, while 12% were homeless. The majority of cases (63%) reporting DRI were living with family members including children.

€50 debts

Drug-related debt was common (67%) among cases reporting DRI with the sums concerned ranging from less than €100 to more than €20,000.

“Drug related intimidation isn’t new, there is a very good chance that once a person is using drugs, there is a debt involved which leads to intimidation. We’re seeing people threatened for debts as low as €50 all the way up to hundreds of thousands of euros,” adds Siobhán.

“Dealers are making drugs very attractive for young people who are holding drugs and selling drugs to clear debts. In some cases, they’re forcing users to hold firearms and everyone affected is targeted because they are vulnerable. Young women are being sexually exploited to pay off debts.

“Drug related intimidation is a business to these criminal gangs who will always find a way to extort money from their victims. You also don’t have to be directly involved in drugs to be affected by this form of intimidation. We’ve had cases where those living next door to drug dealers have been targeted.

"One woman was forced out of her home due to the fallout from a dispute with those living next door who were actively involved in dealing drugs from the property.

“Dealers don’t want to come to the attention of the gardaí so that is one of the main successes of engaging with DRIVE. Intimidation looks different all over the country but when victims engage with the gardaí, the dealers tend to pull back. Families rightly fear retribution if they do reach out for support, but in my experience this doesn’t happen.”

Siobhán says the role of DRIVE has helped secure six convictions in north Dublin in 2023 alone, where people who were being intimidated by drug dealers had engaged with the DRIVE project.

“This is not about blaming family members, and it’s definitely not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Our role is to give people options as to how they deal with the intimidation they are experiencing.

“The work we are doing is making a difference so we need to keep it going.”

The DRIVE project report’s recommendations include strengthening supports and awareness of services across the country, along with enhancement of prevention and community level interventions.

With the issue of DRI affecting communities across the country, it is also pushing for expanding the DRIVE initiative to ensure nationwide access to supports.