Max HeyraudAs Electric Picnic gets underway this weekend, the HSE is on site with more than 50 trained Harm Reduction Volunteers, providing outreach support, four Drugs.ie surrender bins across the festival, and on-site drug testing. Alongside this work, we’re releasing the results of the Four Four and HSE Safer Nightlife Series Nightlife Trends and Harm Reduction Survey. The survey provides one of the most detailed insights yet into how Ireland’s electronic music community approaches nightlife, festivals, drug use and harm reduction.
Participants hailed from every county in the Republic of Ireland, with the greatest proportion coming from Dublin, followed by Cork, Galway, and Kildare. Respondents were skewed young, with most contributors aged between 18-25 (54%). The gender breakdown was 52% male, 44% female, 2% non-binary, 1% other, and 1% not wanting to say.
The findings point to a busy festival season for Irish dance music audiences. Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said they plan to attend more than five events or festivals, while exactly half said they intend to travel outside the Republic of Ireland for nightlife or festival experiences.
Among those travelling, Spain emerged as the most popular destination, followed by the Netherlands and Germany. Ibiza, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Berlin were among the cities mentioned most frequently, alongside destinations such as Croatia, Malta and Belgium. Smaller numbers also reported plans to attend events in Thailand, Brazil, Canada and China.
Northern Ireland continues to be an important destination for Irish audiences. Among respondents attending events there, Emerge was the most frequently cited festival (37%), followed by AVA (32%) and Belsonic (23%).
When asked about their peer groups, 86% believed their friends would use substances other than alcohol when attending events abroad. MDMA, ketamine and cocaine were the drugs most associated with overseas nightlife, followed by amphetamine, cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms. At the same time, 60% agreed that using drugs away from home presents greater risks than doing so locally.
The most common concern was purchasing substances from unfamiliar or untrusted suppliers. Respondents frequently described worries about counterfeit products, contamination or unexpectedly high-strength drugs, alongside the practical risks of meeting unknown dealers in unfamiliar locations.
Respondents also pointed to increased vulnerability to theft or sexual assault while under the influence in unfamiliar settings. Others described what they characterised as a “holiday mindset”, suggesting that travelling can encourage greater experimentation, higher consumption and more frequent mixing of substances than they would normally consider at home.
More than half (56%) thought their peers do not check local drug trends before going to events, while only 17% believed their friends actively seek out local harm reduction services, even in countries where drug checking or welfare initiatives are available. Google was identified as the most common source of harm reduction information (48%), followed by HSE Drugs.ie (21%). Friends and online forums each accounted for 11%.
Among respondents selecting other sources, ChatGPT was mentioned most frequently, alongside Reddit, Erowid, PsychonautWiki, PillReports, PsyCare, Wales’ WEDINOS drug checking service and the UK’s The Loop. Some also reported using harm reduction content on Instagram and TikTok.
Nearly two-thirds said they would engage with a mobile city-centre service (63%), while 61% supported club-based services. Others identified permanent city-centre locations (41%), university campuses (36%) and online services (32%) as valuable access points.
Several respondents also suggested developing an app providing local drug trend information, expanding welfare services into clubs and underground events, improving staff training and creating dedicated safe spaces where attendees could recover without entering medical facilities.
Overall, 59% of respondents believed their peer group would use the programme if it were available at festivals. However, qualitative responses identified significant barriers. People commonly reported fear of Garda surveillance or being targeted after using the service as a barrier to engagement. These perceptions reflect misconceptions that have circulated following previous media coverage rather than the operational model of the programme.
Seven in ten respondents (70%) said they are aware of new drug trends emerging within Irish nightlife. The most frequently mentioned trend was “pink cocaine” (reported by 72% of those identifying new trends), followed by cathinones (26%) and GHB (24%).
Respondents also referenced increasingly potent ketamine, ketamine analogues such as 2-FDCK, high-strength MDMA pills, HHC products, nitrous oxide, 2C compounds and combinations such as cocaine mixed with ketamine (Calvin Klein). Some also expressed concern about increasing use of prescription medicines, including benzodiazepines and pregabalin, particularly as comedown drugs.
Beyond drugs themselves, respondents repeatedly called for wider improvements to nightlife safety. Suggestions included expanded welfare teams, dedicated quiet spaces, free water stations, better training for security staff, improved responses to mental health crises, gender-based violence supports and greater public education around safer substance use.
While many respondents favoured less visible policing around harm reduction services, a smaller group (5%) said they believed more security would improve safety at events.
Nicki Killeen, Emerging Drug Trend Project Manager at the HSE relayed: “This survey demonstrates the value people place on accessible harm reduction information and services. The HSE Safer Nightlife Programme continues to work with nightlife communities and event organisers to provide evidence-based support, outreach and drug market monitoring. Our ‘back of house’ drug checking service is a confidential and health led space. We have an agreement in place with festival organisers and An Garda Síochána that our Drugs.ie tents are not monitored. Currently, festivals are our only opportunity to analyse and identify bad batches or emerging drug trends. When extra risky substances are identified we issue public health warnings on the Drugs.ie socials. Our aim is to help create safer nightlife environments for everyone.”.
Overall, the findings suggest an audience that is highly engaged with discussions around harm reduction and increasingly aware of the complexities of contemporary drug markets. At the same time, the report highlights continuing gaps in knowledge, persistent misconceptions around existing services and strong demand for harm reduction initiatives extending beyond festival settings into clubs, city centres and online spaces.
The HSE will be running Drugs.ie harm reduction tents at two locations, complete with an on-site lab doing real-time drug checking, so if anything extra dangerous turns up in circulation, they can get the word out fast. If you’re at Electric Picnic this weekend, keep an eye out for the HSE Drugs.ie harm reduction tents. Both are safe to use and open to anyone, no judgement, if you’ve any doubt at all about what you’ve got, get it checked.