News of the project was given to members of the Cork City and County Joint Policing Committee (JPC) by David Lane, coordinator of the Southern Regional Drug and Alcohol Taskforce.
Currently, adults and children battling addiction are treated together at the HSE's services at Arbour House, in the St Finbarr's Hospital campus.
Mr Lane said having the different age groups together was not ideal as different approaches were required to help adults and juveniles.
He said that for a number of years he and his colleagues had sought a separate, dedicated treatment unit for minors and the HSE had agreed to build one at the former St Mary's Hospital campus in Gurranabraher.
“It will be built on one entire floor of one of the derelict buildings there. We hope that work will begin on the facility in either in March or April of this year and it will be up and running by the winter,” Mr Lane said.
Source: Sean O'Riordan, Irish Examiner, 13th January 2020