This week, a major new report found that one-third of 15- to 17-yearolds had been "really drunk" at least once in the month before they were surveyed. This coincided with an announcement from consultant psychiatrist, Tony Sharkey, that "cannabis is being thrown around the country like bales of hay" and that there had been an alarming increase in the number of young people suffering from psychotic illnesses brought on by drug abuse.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about these announcements is that they're not that shocking. Not in a country where, just last year, 11 children were treated in hospital for alcohol poisoning on St Patrick's Day. Not in a country where our adolescents boast the third-highest level of binge drinking and drug experimentation in Europe. Not when, all around us, the numbers of children with mental illness continues to rise.

"Drugs pose a very significant problem for children now, " said Dr Gerry McCarney, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with the Drug Treatment Centre Board. "We are getting more and more referrals of eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds. Children are coming to us from all social classes, and, particularly in relation to cannabis, it's a problem all across the board."

According to McCarney, children are now beginning to dabble with alcohol and cannabis at the age of 10 and 12, although some start at an even earlier age. "By the age of 13 or 14, they've expanded out to stimulants such as cocaine, ecstasy and magic mushrooms, " he said. "We're not seeing as much LSD usage as we used to, and less ecstasy and glue too."

One of the most worrying developments is that drugs have gained a degree of social acceptability among children, he said. "It has become normalised. Children's general knowledge about the potential harm it can cause is very poor. For example, young people would be largely unaware of the significant risks associated with using cocaine and alcohol together. We see lots of cases where a young person has a lot to drink, then takes a line of coke that makes them feel artificially sober . . .

so then they drink more and then take more coke. It's a recurring pattern, which is hugely damaging for their bodies."

For those children who try to educate themselves about drugs, the internet is awash with misleading information, according to Marie Byrne, director of Aisling Group International, the Navan-based voluntary addiction counselling service. "There are international organised crime groups that are using the internet to target children and young people and feed them false information about drugs, " she said. "We have seen these sites, and they are so flashy and professional-looking and really very believable for a young person who doesn't know any better. They talk up the legalisation debate, for example, and suggest that there is no reason for drugs to be illegal.

There is no balance or accuracy to their arguments and it's very misleading for children."

Byrne said that children's level of knowledge about drugs is at an alltime low, despite the noticeable rise in child-users. "They know all the lingo, all the street names, all about where to buy drugs and what the drugs are supposed to do to them, " she said. "But their understanding of the reality of drugs is as low as I've ever seen it."

This, combined with a fundamental attitude change towards substance abuse, has created a very dangerous environment for children.

"Even in the last five years, we've seen a big change in the attitude young people have to drugs, " said Byrne. "It used to be that those who used drugs would keep it a secret.

Now, those that don't use are sometimes more embarrassed to say so than those that do. It has become acceptable now . . . even expected . . . in children's minds."

Despite best intentions, the national policy of 'harm reduction' has only served to exacerbate the situation, said Byrne. "The theory is that some young people are going to use ecstasy, so we should at least provide them with the information to do it as safely as possible . . . for example, tell them how many glasses of water they should drink if they 'drop a pill', " she said. "But in reality, all that children are taking from this is that people in authority are telling them there is a safe way to take drugs. They don't hear the information, they just hear that message."

The more practical problems of accessibility and availability have also played a major part in the surge of child substance abusers, according to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).

"One of the major changes in society is the greater availability of money, " said Tess Noonan, southern regional manager of the '4 Me' branch of the ISPCC. "Young people have much more expendable cash now than their parents would have had. When you combine that with the greater availability of drugs and alcohol, you have a real problem."

Noonan said that now that these "natural deterrents" had been removed, society has to look at other methods of keeping young people away from drugs and alcohol. "Ultimately, they can get it if they want it, " she said. "So for them, it's all about decision-making. We have to figure out how to convince them to make the right decision. In the end, it's all down to self-esteem, which is linked to family and relationships. What young people really need is open communication within their family."

With the basic societal changes taking place in Irish family structure, and both parents often working and commuting longer hours, it is becoming increasingly difficult to spend "quality time" together as a family, said Noonan. "One of the risks of this is social isolation, where young people are spending increasing amounts of time on their own while parents are struggling to provide for them financially, " she said. "Parents really need to make sure that they spend quality time with their children, even if it's just 20 minutes once a day. It's vital to keep those lines of communication open."