Jail ‘no solution’ to drug abuse

A one-size fits all, lock-them-up approach to dealing with substance abuse in the courts did not make sense, the chief clerk at the country’s only drug treatment court has said.

Tom Ward, chief clerk of Dublin District Court, told an international conference in Killarney that there needed to be “a leap of faith” in the business community to give reformed addicts a chance.

The Drugs Treatment Court (DTC), set up on a pilot basis in 2001, had seen only 14% of referrals actually graduate from the 18-month treatment and education programme. However, levels of offending for those who passed through most of the three stages of the programme fell dramatically, a review of one group showed.