This weekend marks six months since Ireland’s first medically supervised injection centre opened in Dublin’s south inner city.
Operated by Merchant’s Quay Ireland, it’s been used more than four thousand times.
Newstalk reporter Emma Tyrrell visited the Riverbank Centre to find out more about the 18-month pilot in a report for The Pat Kenny Show.
CEO of Merchant’s Quay Ireland Eddie Mullins said the feedback from clients so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
“One of the statistics which I think is really important, we’ve had 59 non-fatal overdoses in the facility and traditionally those overdoses would have been dealt with by the ambulance service,” he said.
“So, you’ll often see the ambulance service out dealing with people on the street; that can be quite a challenging position for the client and for the ambulance service.
“We’ve dealt with all of them our own in the facility, so our nursing staff have been able to avoid calling an ambulance.
“They deal with their overdose with either oxygen or naloxone and they’ll be able to monitor the person until they’re well and in a position to leave.”
Mr Mullins said that the ambulance service had confirmed to him that they have seen a dramatic drop off in the number of ambulances called to the area.
Pictured a Dublin Fire Brigade Fire Engine and Ambulance arriving outside Leinster House. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie. 29/06/2023.According to Andy O’Hara, a coordinator for UISCE, the National Advocacy Service for people who use drugs, the service has been a revelation for drug users.
“When you have to find somewhere to inject five times a day, it’s hugely stressful, it’s hugely time consuming, it gives you very little time to think of anything else,” he said.
“We’ve had a good few people say to us, ‘Now that stress is being released and I have a chance to breathe, I’ve now started to consider, do I want to come down off drugs? What are my pathways away from drug use?'”
The service operates for 54 hours a week from 8.30am to 12.30pm and again from 3pm to 7pm Monday to Friday.
All weekend hours are from midday to 7pm, with an average of 40-60 users coming through the doors each day.
Main image: Syringe on blue background
