It’s taken a long time but the efforts to tackle the problem of drug related activity in Dublin city centre seem to having an effect.
It was four years ago now that two executives from Bord Gáis addressed a city council policing forum to describe their experience of having their headquarters near Amiens Street methadone clinic.
They described it as “very difficult”.
People attending the clinic and a local pub would hang around outside their offices and visitors felt intimidated. Their staff had been mugged and, on one occasion, hospitalised. They said these incidents were a factor in their decision to move to a new southside location.
It was one of many complaints particularly from city centre businesses about crowds of drug users congregating, moving around the city centre and openly dealing drugs.
This led to meetings between the treatment centres, business representatives, gardaí and the city council.
Publications like the ‘Better City For All’ report looked at what could be done. Business people had long complained that the problems were caused by having treatment centres concentrated in the city centre – six within half-a-mile of O’Connell St.
But treatment groups pointed out that many addicts are from inner city areas.
The other problem was who was going to deal with it.
The Ana Liffey drug treatment project had a “good neighbour” policy which involved cleaning up syringes and getting clients to stop congregating outside the centre.
Source: John Kilraine, RTE, 13/02/15
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