Merchants Quay Ireland welcomes move to widen use of suboxone in drug addiction treatment

Merchants Quay Ireland is welcoming reports that negotiations are at an advanced stage to make suboxone more widely available to drug users.

The national homeless and drugs charity says it is used to treat opioid addiction.

It says it will mean people caught in addiction will have more options in their treatment.

Merchants Quay Ireland Chief Executive Tony Geoghegan says they have been looking for this step for a long time.

He said: "We've actually advocated for the provision of suboxone for about 10 years now. In Ireland the main plank that is used in drug treatment is methadone and we currently have around 10,000 people on methadone.

"But there is a one-size-fits-all approach, and suboxone has been proven to be very successful in other jurisdictions."