Image from documentary 'Faces of Meth' - how this woman's
 face changed after just three years on meth

Leading campaigners for homeless and drug-addicted youths believe that the dangerous and highly addictive class A drug will soon be as widely used in Dublin as cocaine.

Speaking at the annual Getting a Grip conference he asked that more attention be drawn to the issue of drugs in Ireland. .

"Communities are going to be destroyed by drugs. Crack cocaine is now a drug of choice in Dublin and is 10 times worse than heroin. It can cost an addict €3,000 to €4,000 a day.

"Crystal meth is 10 times worse than crack cocaine and has devastated communities in America. We're now seeing crystal meth here, at about the same level as crack cocaine was five or six years ago. We need to start preparing to deal with crystal meth, but we haven't yet caught up with the cocaine problem.

"I wish we were back with the heroin problem. When someone came to us on heroin we knew what we were dealing with, but with crack cocaine you'd better watch out. And the next wave that's going to hit Ireland is crystal meth.

"Once this gets a hold you'd need to build a high wall around your house and get a good burglar alarm."