More than 30 needles mainly used for injecting heroin are being found on Dublin city streets every day.
The Herald can today reveal that almost 12,000 needles are taken off the streets annually.
Three separate groups - Dublin City Council (DCC), the Ana Liffey Project and Dublin Town, the body that represents city businesses - are collecting the needles and syringes on both sides of the Liffey.
Last year, two council workers were pricked by the needles while cleaning the city's alleyways and streets.
A total of 4,600 used needles were collected in the north inner city and a further 7,000 were picked up from Parnell Street across to St Stephen's Green in 2014.
The Ana Liffey Drug Project picked up 2,000 used needles, DCC gathered 2,600 and Dublin Town collected 7,000. On average, more than 220 needles a week, or 32 a day, are being recovered.
Tony Duffin, who is the director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, said the issue of disposing of needles used for drugs in the city has to be tackled.
"At this point, all stakeholders are agreed that public injecting is a serious issue in Dublin's city centre, both north and south. Unfortunately, unsafe disposal of injecting paraphernalia is one consequence of this," Mr Duffin.
Source: Joyce Fegan, Irish Independent, 17/02/15
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
