Injection centre 'urgently' needed in Cork to address 35 drugs deaths per year

Campaigners have long called for an injection facility in Cork, similar to the facility in Dublin

The Government must "urgently" open an injection centre in Cork to address 35 drug-related deaths in the city each year.

It comes as an unpublished review of the country's only drug injection facility reveals a steady increase in the number of people accessing the service in Dublin, leading to a drop in drug-related litter, and a noticeable decline in street injecting.

The interim review of the Merchant's Quay Ireland (MQI) facility, which is expected to be published in the coming weeks, shows the life-saving nature of such facilities, with 107 medical interventions, including 91 overdose responses with oxygen used, and no fatalities recorded.

"Ambulance use was infrequent, and undoubtedly, saved taxpayer money," the six-month impact evaluation of the supervised injecting facility(SIF) has found.

There were 292 unique clients in December 2024, shortly after the service opened. 

By June 2025 there had been over 5,000 visits by more than 800 clients.

"Importantly, from a community perspective it is noted that there was a ‘positive impact’ of the SIF on the immediate residential community," the report finds.

The review concluded that the service has been accessed by people at highest risk, intervened successfully in overdose situations, improved client health, improved local amenity, and built bridges to treatment and support within six months of operation.

Campaigners have long called for a similar facility in Cork, with Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice highlighting significant on-street drug use which makes local residents feel unsafe and intimidated.

UCC research found there was an average of 35 deaths in Cork city each year due to problem drug use between 2018 and 2022. 

Opioids were the main drug implicated in poisoning deaths (75.7%), followed by benzodiazepines (59.3%), gabapentinoids (27.9%) and cocaine (14.3%)

“While repeated governments’ drug policies have failed, the safe injection facility in Dublin has been a huge success. Eddie Mullins from MQI in Dublin has said that there is ‘no doubt that countless lives have been saved’," Mr Rice said.

“Cork urgently needs a similar facility. Recently the Oireachtas Committee on Drug Use heard that 40 years of evidence shows that these are effective. They reduce on-street drug use, reduce the spread infectious disease, prevent overdoses and connect people to addiction services," Mr Rice add.

“Yet last year, when I asked the Minister about a supervised injection facility for Cork, I was told that no new safe injection facilities would be considered until after the 18-month pilot in Dublin was completed. We are now 17 months in. The countdown is on. 

"I’ll be expecting a rapid review of the pilot because Cork cannot wait any longer. People are dying in our city, and communities are suffering because the proper supports are not in place."