Women represent one of the fastest growing groups seeking treatment for cocaine, according to rehabilitation facility the Rutland Centre.
Its latest annual report found there was also "a surge" in complex, multi-addiction cases last year.
Treatment for cocaine as a primary addiction rose from 17% in 2023 to 23% in 2024, signalling one of the "sharpest single-year increases" recorded for any substance at the centre.
In recent months, the Health Research Board said cocaine was the most common problem drug among new treatment cases, accounting for over 30% of all new presentations, overtaking cannabis for the first time.
The report said that of the 72% of those who presented at the Rutland Centre with a secondary addiction, gambling comprised 10.5% and cocaine comprised 33%.
In response to what it has described as an "escalating crisis", the centre announced plans to open a dedicated inpatient detox unit later this year.
While the number of women seeking addiction for cocaine has grown, men made up two-thirds, or 66%, of those treated at the Rutland Centre last year.
Women accounted for 34%.
The largest age groups seeking help were adults aged 25 to 44, indicating that younger adults and men are continuing to face particularly acute risks.
The primary addiction treated at the centre is alcohol, however, the number of people for whom alcohol is their main addiction fell last year.
In 2023, alcohol was the primary addiction for 65% of those who attended the centre.
In 2024, the figure dropped to 52%.
Head of Clinical Services Emma Kavanagh said the profile of addiction is "shifting", which presents "challenges on many levels".
"It is no longer isolated to one substance or behaviour - we're seeing high rates of poly-addiction, often accompanied by serious mental health challenges," she said.
Ms Kavanagh said some women do not think cocaine was "particularly problematic" and that was a naivety that the drug is "quite benign" and not addicitve.
She said: "I also hear from women as well, particularly younger women who might be more body conscious, more weight conscious, more health conscious, is this false narrative being perpetuated that cocaine isn't as unhealthy for them as alcohol is.
"The kind of catch phrase that I hear is there are no calories in cocaine. So people think that it's a healthier option for them than alcohol, and I think that's partly why we're seeing women leaning more towards cocaine use."
There is also an awareness amongst younger women that alcohol can lead them into "unsafe situations", which is leading them to consider cocaine more frequently because they want to socialise and party.
"Which is something that most generations will want to, you know, experiment with at some point. But there's a real awareness with women of this generation that maybe alcohol leads them into very unsafe situations," according to Ms Kavanagh.
"We see all the numbers for domestic violence and violence towards women are at an all time high. So women feel sometimes that cocaine and the buzz that you get from cocaine is maybe a safer place to be than being intoxicated down under the influence of alcohol," she added.
Another reason for the rise in cocaine use is its availability and accessibility, according to Rutland Centre CEO Maebh Mullany.
She said: "We're being invited into schools because it's in the lockers, it's after sports. We're being invited to organisations because it's a problem in most teams. We're hearing from people who come into the (treatment) service here that there's an app on the dark web that they can order it and it can be drone delivered.
"That's something that we're hearing increasingly frequently, actually, and I think that's the underlying stand out from this report. It's the accessibility, availability and how that's changing what's needed then from services."
Over 200 people received intensive treatment through the Rutland Centre's residential and outpatient programmes in 2024.
The centre also engaged with thousands through aftercare, free screening clinics and family support services.
There has also been a rise in the number of people with multiple addiction and poly-addiction (addiction to more than one substance).
Such is the level of poly-drug use, that the Rutland Centre is adapting its approach to treatment through the introduction of a planned detox facility.
Alcohol remains a common denominator when it comes to drug addiction in Ireland according to the organisation.
At 41-years-old, Emer McGowan entered the Rutland Centre knowing that she had to combat her reliance on alcohol.
She did not know much about addiction at the time, but she knew she had a problem. Her children were young and she wanted to be the best version of myself.
Fourteen years on, life has changed dramatically for Emer, who is about to become grandmother.
She is consumed with inner peace and contentment - something she searched for all her life.
She said: "I was always insecure, I was always full of anxiety, and of course I thought alcohol was my friend to help me to overcome all of that. Little did I know it was absolutely destroying me.
"I'm an average mother and it can happen to anybody, it's nothing to be ashamed of."
Emer has used her sobriety to help others.
"We need to break the whole stigma on how people look and perceive addiction. We don't choose to get it. It can be anybody's Dad, mother, sister, whatever. It's about just facing it head on," she said.
Once action is taken, Emer promises, it is the best decision anyone can make in life.
"If you put the drink down or whatever addiction that you have, you have the best chance of having the most wonderful life you know, and I can promise you that it's an absolute promise," she said.
Staff answered over 16,800 calls and facilitated over 11,000 aftercare attendances, which it said underscored the scale of need in Irish society.
The Rutland Centre has benefitted from a financial surplus for the first time in years, which allowed for further investment in free community-based services such as the new Addiction Screening Clinic and Family Intervention & Access Programme.
