HSE 'doubling down' on plan for mobile drug injecting centre in Cork City

The move follows the go-ahead for a pilot facility in Dublin

Merchants Quay Ireland was granted permission to operate the country’s first medically supervised injecting facility at its offices in Dublin city centre. Picture: Gareth Chaney Collins

The HSE is “doubling down” on proposals to set up a mobile drug injecting centre for Cork City after a long-fought battle to establish a pilot facility in Dublin was won.

HSE’s co-ordinator of Drug and Alcohol Services in Cork and Kerry, David Lane, said the HSE, with the support of other agencies, will progress this proposal over the next six to 12 months — with the key issue being funding.

An Bord Pleanála granted Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) planning permission to operate the country’s first ever medically supervised injecting facility (MSIF) at its offices in Dublin city centre for a trial period of 18 months.

Registered users, which MQI told the board would be largely existing clients, will be able to legally inject drugs in the centre, under medical supervision and other supports.

The board’s inspection report acknowledged the scale and severity of the problems long experienced by the local school and the local community adjacent to MQI offices, in terms of anti-social and criminal behaviour, public injecting, and drug litter, but concluded the proposal would significantly reduce these problems.

“I think it’s a great day in terms of the decision, I’m delighted,” said Mr Lane. 

It’s well overdue and we’d be really excited for something like that to happen in Cork as well.” 

The HSE in Cork and the Cork Local Drugs Task Force have been campaigning for a service in Cork City for many years and have brought in other relevant agencies, including Cork City Council, gardaí, and businesses.

Mr Lane said: “What we are exploring currently in Cork is to establish first, because it wouldn’t be as expensive and it wouldn’t be as challenging in terms of planning permission, we’re looking at the possibility of setting up a mobile medically supervised injecting facility for the city.

“We’ll really be doubling down on that for the next six to 12 months for Cork and see where we get in terms of attracting resources and wider public support in terms of the benefits of it.” 

He said the overall aim is for a fixed site and they intend in the first half of this year to visit locations in Europe where mobile sites have been established.

Mr Lane said they have the support of all the agencies locally, but that the challenge is “getting it funded”.

He said there is “a whole process” of applying for funding and he is more than happy for other partners to be involved.

“In terms of Dublin, that is all coming through the Department of Health and through HSE, so there would be an estimates process around all of that,” he said. 

“What we’d be looking to be done is to have a business plan in the first two quarters and make a proposal then for the estimates process for 2024.

“The bottom line, and this is not exclusive to Cork, is we have overdose deaths. We are looking at how we can prevent overdoses, and a facility like this works in terms of that. For the local community and businesses, it takes drug injecting off the streets and it’s a huge benefit in terms of drug litter.”