Drugs problem rooted in deprived areas
It is not acceptable any longer to ignore the devastation drugs are causing to communities and families living in these areas.
Prisoners should be entitled to the same treatment and help in curbing of their addiction as everyone else.
Many inmates in Mountjoy are drug addicts. In many cases the crimes they have committed are drug-related. By locking up drug addicts in an institution which offers no solution to their fundamental problem, we fail to address the root cause of the problem.
People are leaving Mountjoy in a more drug dependent state than when they arrive. This means many are back on the street using every possible means to support their habit.
Before long, they end up in prison again. A comprehensive methadone maintenance programme for all prison inmates would help significantly to reduce the number leaving prison acutely dependent on drugs.
Cllr Noel Collins
‘St Jude’s’
Midleton
Co Cork
