MINISTER REVIEWS PROPOSAL FOR HEROIN ADDICTS

The Minister for State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy,
Mr Eoin Ryan, is reviewing a proposal to introduce injecting rooms for
heroin addicts.

The proposal was submitted to the National Drugs Strategy Review by the
Merchants Quay Project, the State's largest voluntary drugs project, and
would involve providing supervised rooms in which drug addicts could inject
heroin at cubicles with clean equipment.

A spokeswoman for the Minister said they were looking at the proposals
submitted and at successful drug services used worldwide. "We are looking
at all international best practices," she said. Specifically, the
spokeswoman said they were examining injecting rooms as used in Switzerland.

In addition to Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany also have injecting
rooms for addicts. The New South Wales government in Australia has recently
approved a trial injecting room.

Mr Tony Geoghegan, director of the Merchants Quay Project, said injecting
rooms would help prevent the sharing of needles and disease among addicts,
and in particular, homeless addicts.

He said homeless people generally went to public places such as parks or
toilets to inject drugs and could be a public nuisance. Safe injecting
rooms or consumption rooms might encourage them to stop injecting in
public, he said.

Mr Geoghegan also said injecting rooms could encourage drug users to come
into contact with drugs services.

While there are more than 4,000 drug users receiving treatment in Dublin, a
further estimated 9,000 are taking drugs and not seeking treatment.

Mr Geoghegan said injecting rooms might include a place where people would
be met at the door and brought into an inner room where there were separate
areas for individual users.

He said there would have to be strict rules on selling drugs on the
premises and on users injecting on their own, so as to prevent sharing
equipment.

He said there would also have to be supervisory staff to enforce the rules
and in case anyone got into difficulties.

Mr Geoghegan added there would have to be an agreement with the Gardai
regarding the setting up of injecting rooms so users could attend the
service without fear of being arrested.

He acknowledged there would be opposition to the idea but said there was a
need for a range of different services to treat people who took heroin.

"This is a pragmatic response, however people can sometimes respond on an
emotional level."

Ms Anna Quigley of the Dublin Citywide Drugs Crisis said her organisation
was in favour of looking at all possible options in dealing with the problem.

"The hope is to get everybody off drugs. But that realistically isn't going
to happen and people are entitled to healthcare while they are using
drugs," she said.

The Merchants Quay Project also recommended greater access to needle
exchange services; vending machines to increase the availability of
injecting equipment; pharmacies to be involved in the distribution of
sterile injecting equipment; and primary healthcare specifically for drug
users.