Frustration over lack of Cork supervised drug injection centre 

A HSE Cork addiction manager is frustrated to see drug users either “die on our streets” or be moved from the city to the suburbs by gardaí when he has been calling for a supervised injection centre for a decade.

Drug use in the suburbs has risen since patrols of the city centre started last November.

HSE South West general manager and regional lead for social inclusion, David Lane, said: “People who are caught up in addiction are very mobile.

“If there are efforts to move people from a particular area, these people will go somewhere else.”

Former lord mayor Mick Finn said that “drug dealing and [drug] taking have visibly increased” in residential areas just outside the city.

“Parents and older residents are very concerned that this will escalate further.”

A Garda spokesperson told The Echo they are aware of incidents reported in the Ballyphehane, Turner’s Cross, and Togher areas, which were recently highlighted by Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice.

Liaising

They added that they were liaising with public representatives, including the Taoiseach’s office and residents of the areas.

“A proportionate policing operation has been introduced,” said the spokesperson. 

“An Garda Síochána is conscious of the national drugs strategy and the health-focused approach towards persons suffering from drug addiction and appreciates that drug treatment facilities are crucial in facilitating medical assistance.”

Mr Lane said Cork city’s needle exchange workers move wherever people are, cleaning up discarded paraphernalia and engaging with people.

“We know where movement is happening, and we have noticed a shift,” he said.

“People are moving to different parts of the city because there’s been a huge effort to police the city centre and support the business community.

“I’m on the record as saying there’s a better solution to this.

“We need to be providing a service to people struggling with addiction so they don’t have to be hiding, moving from one place to another to avoid contact with gardaí."

Challenges

“A medically supervised consumption room in the city deals with all of this — it eliminates the significant challenges local communities have with public drug use and discarded paraphernalia, but also helps eliminate overdoses.

“We’ve had people die on our streets — every year it happens — and these deaths are avoidable with a facility I have been calling for over 10 years now.

“It could have been done many years ago. It’s a little frustrating, knowing what will work.”

Mr Lane said the Dublin supervised injection centre has been up and running for nearly 18 months and there have been huge benefits in areas which had significant problems previously. He said that there is light at the end of the tunnel if there was a focus on helping addicts rather than moving them out of sight.

“We have had incredible success stories — our services have supported people who have had significant challenges, injecting heroin and using a whole range of other substances, and they do find recovery.

“We have people that go back to college, study counselling and psychotherapy and become qualified addiction counsellors to support others — there is hope for everybody.

“We need to look at that light, it’s badly needed for people and their families who suffer, mothers wondering will their child be alive next year.”