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Statement from CEO Dawn Russell on International Overdose Awareness Day 2025
August 31, 2025
Over the past decade, the Irish Government and health services have taken significant steps to end overdose. In the past two years, Ireland has been recognised as a model of best practice in responding to overdose clusters. We should take pride in these achievements, while acknowledging that more must be done.
Despite making progress, we continue to lose hundreds of lives to overdose each year. Many overdose survivors experience repeated non-fatal overdoses, causing serious physical and emotional trauma to both themselves and their loved ones.
At Ana Liffey Drug Project, we are on the frontline. We witness the gaps in support for younger people who are at risk of overdose and drug-related harm, yet do not engage with health services. We see the cycle of treatment and relapse among our service users, people striving for recovery but struggling to sustain it and build fulfilling lives.
On this International Overdose Awareness Day, we are calling for key strategic actions to be prioritised in the next National Drugs Strategy:
- Legislative amendments to ensure free and equitable access to naloxone across Ireland, for anyone who wishes to carry it.
- Expansion of accessible addiction services that meet the needs of Ireland’s diverse drug-using populations and keep pace with rapidly changing drug trends.
- A whole-of-government approach to building a recovery-oriented system of care, grounded in international evidence and focused on long-term, sustainable addiction recovery.
At Ana Liffey, we remain firmly committed to working in partnership with the Department of Health, the HSE, and our colleagues across the community and voluntary sectors to deliver these practical, life-saving solutions.
