IMO responding to report published by Public Health Minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD which examines the relationship between addiction treatment and deprivation
 
‘The link between drug addiction and social deprivation cannot be denied and emphasises our chronic societal issue which can only be addressed by major systemic reform’
 
Friday May 8, 2026. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has welcomed the publication of a report confirming the link between social deprivation and drug addiction but warned that increased and targeted investment was needed as an urgent priority to address rising health inequality in Ireland.

The IMO was responding to the publication of a report titled ‘An Exploration of the Relationship between Addiction Treatment and Geographic Deprivation’, prepared for the Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD.

Dr Anne Dee, a former President of the IMO and a member of its Public and Community Health Committee, said that inaction by successive governments on tackling the social determinants of health had led to the reality that had been outlined by the report.

“Too often, we have seen reports like this gather dust after being announced to great fanfare. The link between drug addiction and social deprivation cannot be denied and emphasises our chronic societal issue which can only be addressed by major systemic reform, including early intervention, and targeted and sustained engagement and funding for marginalised communities.

“While addiction services need to be targeted where the need is greater, the bigger issue is the lack of a national Drug and Alcohol prevention programme targeting children and young people, and more importantly, a whole of government approach to address the poverty and other social determinants which are the root cause of not just increased addiction problems, but many wider societal problems.

She added: “If we are serious about lasting solutions, far greater resourcing and more work with key stakeholders across all the domains of society towards redressing the imbalance are needed.”

She said that addressing this problem required multi-year funding and could not be curtailed by arbitrary funding cuts. “In recent days we have seen the HSE announce spending and staffing controls based on a budgetary targets that are already unrealistic based on the needs of our rapidly growing population. The effect of these cuts is that we continue to fund the fire-fighting activities of acute health at the cost of investing in the prevention activities that would prevent the fires in the first place.

“A problem like this needs ringfenced, secure and multi-year investment. Otherwise, we will repeat the mistakes of the past and condemn future generations to the same chronic societal problems.”