Policymakers urged to back supervised injecting facility in Cork city

CORK City Public Participation Network (PPN) has called on policymakers to consider the results of research being conducted by UCC on the potential of a Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF).

At a recent Community Safety Linkage Group meeting, PPN members called on policymakers to fund accordingly any measures suggested.

HSE Head of Drugs and Alcohol Services in Cork and Kerry David Lane spoke about the journey taken by officials to Portugal to witness Lisbon’s equivalent.

On return from the trip, UCC was contracted to carry out independent research on whether there is a need for such a facility in Cork city.

City residents were given an opportunity to raise concerns with Mr Lane and learned that where these services were put in place, deaths from overdose plummeted, blood-borne illnesses reduced, and people experiencing addiction could tie in other services such as addiction recovery and family support services.

For the local communities, there is a reduction in injecting equipment on streets, and vulnerable, ill people in the community could get access to the support they need.

A MSIF for Cork city is not in the Programme for Government but PPN members have called on policymakers to address this.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Lane highlighted the need to follow the best available evidence if communities, cities and countries are to be effective in addressing problems associated with illicit drug use.

“This means responding to drug use with localised, targeted and inclusive interventions, which match the particular patterns of drug use in an area,” he said.

Mr Lane said that MSIFs have “been shown to save lives and improve the health of people who inject drugs. But there are the broader environmental benefits such as the reduction of inappropriately discarded paraphernalia and public injecting”.

“I am looking forward to the publication of the research which will be completed by UCC in February 2024.

“I welcome the support of the Public Participation Network and many other stakeholders in Cork city.”

Community Safety Linkage Group Chair Laura O’Connell said:. “[Residents and community groups] felt heard and engaged with and, in response, learned the evidence in relation to MSIFs. But it went further, our members expressed a need to highlight the humanity of people experiencing addiction, with one participant saying, ‘They are us; we are they’.”

The Community Safety Linkage Group has asked Mr Lane to return and speak to the group once the UCC research has been completed in early 2024.