Irish children are more likely than those in other countries to abuse drugs and alcohol, a new Government-sponsored study on child well-being has found.

The report, State of the Nation’s Children, launched yesterday by Minister of State for Children, Mr Brian Lenihan, showed that 40 per cent of Irish children aged 15 reported having used illegal drugs in their lifetime, way above the average international figure of 22 per cent among industrialised countries.

Irish children were also more likely to binge drink, with 57 per cent of children aged 15 reporting having drunk five or more drinks in a row in the previous 30 days.

The report also said that Irish children were somewhat less likely to confide in their parents than children in most other industrialised countries. While a significant majority of children, 79.4 per cent, felt that they could confide in their mother, only 58.7 per cent felt that they could talk about important matters with their fathers, below the international average of 64.2 per cent. In terms of parental interest in children’s education, the report showed that 47.9 per cent of parents discussed schooling several times a week, again below the international average of 52.3 per cent.

However, the study had better news on Irish children’s capacity to interact with their peers. According to the report, over 90 per cent of Irish children, aged 10 to 17 reported having three or more friends. This was the highest percentage of any country surveyed. Meanwhile, Irish children were less likely than average to experience bullying.

Welcoming the report, Mr Lenihan said that, while there was good news in the report, some elements, such as the number of teenagers experimenting with drugs, were worrying.

“These statistics which have been in the public domain for some time now, are a wake up call to all of us and to parents particularly who need to be vigilant about what their children do and how they spend their spare time,” he said.