OVER 15 NEW DRUG ABUSERS A DAY SOUGHT AID AT CENTRE

An average of 15 to 20 new drug-users presented themselves to the
Merchant's Quay Project in Dublin each week last year for
needle-exchange or treatment services, according to its annual report
published yesterday.

A total of 960 new contacts were made by the project in 1998, 27 per
cent of whom were teenagers. More worrying, the director, Mr Tony
Geoghegan, said that over half of new clients had not been in contact
with any other drugs service.

This reflected a situation where up to 6,000 of the city's estimated
13,420 opiate-users had no contact with such services, he said.

"These people are most at risk from infection from HIV and hepatitis
C, particularly the teenagers who are still in their honeymoon period
of drug use. They are most likely to be engaged in risky behaviour
like using dirty needles, sharing injecting equipment, or overdosing,
as well as causing a public nuisance."

Calling for the establishment of a city-wide community outreach
service, he said: "The immediate priority must be to link young
drug-users in with services - that means there should be outreach
workers linking in with drug-users in the areas in which they
congregate, promoting safer drug use, linking them with treatment, and
helping to clear the areas of discarded needles and drugs
paraphernalia."

Merchant's Quay has already applied for funding to Dublin Corporation
to run such a project.

The annual report, which marks the 10th anniversary of the project,
also found that 93 per cent of clients had experienced
homelessness.

Mr Geoghegan said homelessness reduced the chances of successfully
treating drug-users and increased the risk of relapse. He backed the
call for an investment in social housing, and said special provision
should be made to ensure swift access to housing for drug-users
actively seeking treatment.

More than 80 per cent of participants on the project's Integra
employment programme had no home to which they could return after
completing the two-year EU supported course.

In total, 25,738 clients visited the Merchant's Quay Project last
year, an increase of 11 per cent on 1997. The average age was 24, and
512 were aged under 18.

Meanwhile, in a ceremony at Belfield last evening, the first 36
students to complete a course in drugs counselling and intervention
skills sponsored by the project and UCD received their certificates.