Irish students are more likely than their European counterparts to sniff inhalants such as glue and aerosols to get high, according to a Europe-wide survey.
While the report shows an overall decline in drug use among Irish 15- to 16-year-olds, they still rank among the top three nationalities for binge-drinking, being drunk over a 12month period and using cannabis.
The research, commissioned by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD), is based on interviews with thousands of teenagers in schools in 30 European countries in 1999.
The Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, said the report showed that "our children's futures are at stake".
Speaking yesterday from Sweden, where the report was released, he said: "All strands of Irish society must examine how we can work together to take the kind of actions that will, over time, result in behavioural change towards alcohol and other substances."
The report shows that overall drug use among Irish students dropped to 32 per cent in 1999 from 37 per cent in a similar survey in 1995. However, Ireland still ranked second-highest in this category, after the UK.
The proportion of teenagers drunk three or more times in the previous 30 days increased sharply from 15 per cent in 1995 to 24 per cent in 1999.
Irish teenagers were top of the European league in binge-drinking - having five drinks or more in a row. Almost one in three Irish teenagers surveyed said they had been binge-drinking three times or more in the previous 30 days. Other countries with worryingly high levels of binge-drinking were the UK, Denmark and Poland.
Officials said binge-drinking was a particular problem because even if overall drinking fell, children were at particular risk when very drunk to dangers such as alcohol poisoning, accidents and unwanted sex.
More than one in four Irish teenagers - 22 per cent of boys and 21 per cent of girls - said they had sniffed inhalants such as glue and aerosols to get high. Ireland topped the league in this category, followed by Greenland. Use of inhalants in Ireland was about twice the average among the 30 countries, while the use of tranquilisers or sedatives without a doctor's prescription was about average.
The study also found that:
32 per cent of Irish teenagers had used cannabis, ranking them second out of the 30 countries surveyed; and
those who drank alcohol 20 times or more in the previous year increased from 32 per cent to 39 per cent.
As in 1995, the 1999 ESPAD study collected questionnaire data from children aged 15 to 16. Students answered the questionnaires anonymously in test conditions. Most sample sizes, except in small countries, were close to or above the recommended number of 2,400.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said yesterday he had discussed with the Garda Commissioner recent concerns about the enforcement of legislation aimed at combating underage drinking.
Mr O'Donoghue said he had been assured that gardai were "resolutely enforcing" the licensing laws relating to underage drinking. He said: "There has been misleading comment to the effect that there has been only one conviction under the 2000 Act, since it came into operation last July. This is simply not the case.
"Since July, six licensed premises have had, as a result of convictions under the Act, temporary closure orders made against them and the Garda are pursuing cases in respect of another 80 premises nationwide."