Dublin drug treatment centre pilots scheme for rural clients

One of the main rehabilitation centres for adolescent drug users in Dublin is piloting a new scheme offering one-off assessments to young people with similar issues in other parts of the country.

Dr Gerry McCarney, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist of the SASSY (Substance Abuse Services Specific to Youth) project in north inner city Dublin, said the scheme might help drug-abusing teenagers in the absence of a nationwide service.

SASSY caters for the northside and Dublin’s north county, but Dr McCarney said it had been receiving a small number of case files from around the country, in an effort to provide some guidance for the young persons involved.