The Cabinet made legal history yesterday by giving the green light for a State-backed facility where the injection of illegal drugs will be permitted.
The Government agreed to proposals, pushed by minister of state for drugs strategy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and supported by Health Minister Leo Varadkar, to establish a medically supervised injecting centre.
Mr Ó Ríordáin told the Irish Examiner he was “delighted” and said there was “round-table support” at the Cabinet. He said there were “operational concerns” from gardaí, but said they were not objecting to it.
He said the centre would be set up on a pilot basis in Dublin city centre and would then be reviewed.
"That makes sense, to establish if there are any operational issues that need to be teased out,” said Mr Ó Ríordáin.
He said he had already been “lobbied intensively” by local drug taskforces and projects in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Galway, for similar facilities.
He said legislation would provide for the decriminalisation of the possession of drugs at a centre licensed by the minister of health.
The provision will be included as an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Bill 2015, which was drafted to recriminalise drugs deemed legal after a High Court ruling earlier this year.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, Irish Examiner, 16/12/15
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
