Fury as heroin kits and used needles found in play area

Used drug needles and heroin kits have been found discarded in an area used by children in inner city Cork.

The shocking find on Cat Lane, off Tower St in the historic Barrack St quarter, has sparked serious public health concerns and prompted calls for swift action from the authorities. Among the items found earlier this week were:

*The remains of one-hit kit packs. The kits include needles, a filter syringe, ‘cooking-up’ spoons, swabs, and citric acid to prepare heroin, all packaged together in a sterile wrapper — enough ‘clean works’ for a single injection by a drug user. The kits are designed to encourage intravenous drugs users to change their injecting practice, to inject more safely, and to reduce the reuse and sharing of equipment;