Heroin use continues to rise in capital with 640 new injectors seeking help

THE number of heroin users in Dublin continues to grow – with an extra 642 new drug-injectors seeking help last year from one of the country’s leading charities working with drug users.

Merchants Quay Ireland’s annual report today will reveal the overall numbers attending its drugs services last year rose by 9% compared with the previous year.

Commenting ahead of the report, Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) director Tony Geoghegan said, despite the increased numbers of drug users presenting for help, the recession-hit charity had made great efforts to cut back on spending.

“We significantly pared back our costs in relation to areas like administration, research, training and other back office functions while at the same time agreeing new working arrangements with staff to ensure that we could develop new much needed initiatives for our service users.”

The charity is delivering services in 11 counties to drug users as well as homeless people, and last year helped some 9,422 people.

There was a sharp rise in the numbers of drug users attending services in the Midlands and up to 250 people getting help from the group’s Midlands community harm reduction service there.

According to the annual report, the numbers availing of the group’s addiction help services in prisons also passed the 1,000 mark for the first time. MQI operates in 13 prisons across the country, helping inmates struggling with drug addiction.

Despite increased demand for services, the charity had suffered sharp funding cutbacks, warned Mr Geoghegan. Cutbacks in drug addiction help would have a knock-on effect on other services, he said: “Investing in harm reduction service directly reduces health care expenditure.

“Investment in drug substitution treatment has been shown to reduce other healthcare costs and to reduce crime and investment in drug free treatment and aftercare can reduce expenditure on healthcare, criminal justice and social welfare. Most of all, investing in all of these areas reduces the misery associated with drug use for everybody.”

The charity will also point to new initiatives launched last year despite cuts. These include extra beds at its detox facility at the St Francis Farm in Co Carlow.

Services have also been increased across four Midland counties in Westmeath, Offaly, Longford and Laois.