Safe space ‘to shoot up heroin’ next to school gets green light
A NATIONAL school is to seek legal advice after the HSE announced it is to locate an injection centre for heroin addicts on its doorstep.
The Supervised Injection Facility (SIF) will operate in the Merchant’s Quay area of Dublin’s city centre, just 300 metres away from St Audoen’s NS.
The State-sponsored centre will allow drug addicts to possess, use and inject illegal substances, including heroin, under medical supervision.
But principal Eilish Meagher yesterday criticised the move stating that ‘the expansion of this service to introduce a Drug Injection Centre is a critical Child Protection concern’.
In a statement, she said: ‘There is no mention of regulation and/ or legislation regarding the distribution and selling of illegal drugs, policing challenges and volume of service users/addicts in the immediate vicinity of a childcare setting.’
Currently Merchant’s Quay does not offer supervised space for the injection of drugs, but the centre does provide a needle exchange. This has led to an influx of drug users to the area who have littered drug paraphernalia throughout the neighbourhood and communal areas.
Ms Meagher said ‘there has been no consultation and no public engagement in Dublin 8’.
She added: ‘The school has long-standing concerns regarding the current needle exchange programme on Merchant’s Quay and the dangerous impact of a centralised and already oversubscribed drug service in such close proximity to a primary school. The school has expressed concerns for a number of years, highlighting daily public order offences, including drug dealing, assault, intimidation and aggressive behaviour stemming from such a large service on our doorstep.’
The principal told the MoS how ‘it is the responsibility of our Government and the HSE to develop an integrated and well managed response to our national drug problem without continuously over saturating and further marginalising specific areas and communities’.
She added: ‘The board of management of St Audoen’s will be seeking legal advice with regard to Friday’s announcement.’
Local business leaders and politicians also expressed their outrage at the HSE’s plans. Speaking to the MoS, Martin Harte, chief executive at the Temple Bar Company, highlighted the ‘huge irony of Government policy’ in opening such centres.
He said: ‘On one hand we’re trying to separate the Pinot Gri- gio from the pears and on the other hand we have no issue in the inner city to stick a heroin injecting centre next to a school.’
Mr Harte also warned: ‘This is essentially going to decriminalise the possession of heroin within the city centre. It is going to create a huge policing problem and a huge problem for the local residents, local schools, local businesses.’
Dublin city councillor Mannix Flynn described the announcement as ‘just another grandiose place to shoot up heroin’.
In particular, he was critical of the HSE’s involvement: ‘This is in keeping with the HSE’s reckless behaviour, with people on trollies in corridors of hospitals. A totally and utterly negative approach to healthcare.
‘It’s a gross betrayal of those in the city, the businesses, and it’s an absolute disregard and contempt for local communities and schools. If it is going to be a big success, why not put it in St James’ Hospital, why not put it in Tallaght Hospital, why not actually just open a hospital?’
Mr Flynn was also sceptical about the project going ahead in Merchant’s Quay saying that it was still subject to planning permission and the approval of the local community.
‘It will be resisted, resisted, resisted. This is born out of ignorance and it is no way to treat the unfortunate addicts who are on our streets, in our homes, or are coming out of jail.’
‘A negative approach to healthcare’