'We have to look at the reality, people are dying': Garda chief backs injecting centre

An Garda Síochána is supporting the forthcoming supervised injecting centre not just because it’s Government policy but because it is the “right thing to do”, Dublin’s police chief says.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy said the actual enforcement of the law around the centre will be a “learning curve” but noted that it will involve the same use of discretion that gardaí have always practised.

Speaking at the Dublin City Council joint policing committee, the head of Dublin Metropolitan Region said “policing never cured drug addiction” and that anything that “saved lives is a plus”.