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Carey Hints at National Needle Exchange Programme for Addicts
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Speaking at the launch of the Merchants Quay Ireland 2006 report, Junior Minister for Drug Strategy Pat Carey suggested the government may look at implementing a needle exchange programme nationally. The programme seems prompted by the volume which the smaller Merchants Quay project deals with. Last year nearly 40,000 visits to the programme were logged with nearly 2,000 new injectors logged.
This is quite possible a bit of kite flying or simply playing to an audience, though Carey’s own experience in Ballymun lends the speech a certain gravitas. There are potential benefits in terms of spreading HIV and blood borne diseases in such a programme though it would likely be socially contentious to spend money on needle exchange when other areas of the Health Service seem to be incapable of delivering as required. Yet the government is mandated to provide care to all and needle exchange can provide a vital means of beginning a rehab process or joining up drug policy. Its hinted at in the report of the working group on Drug Rehabilitation, which the government commmitted to implementing.
The statement overshadows the other major aspect of the report though, Tony Geoghan is quoted calling for government to reverse its decision to deny those from new accession states access to welfare payments. The number of poor new-comers presenting as homeless to the centre is rising.
Going on to talk about Merchants Quay Ireland’s homeless services Mr. Geoghegan said “This year we have seen another increase in the numbers of persons from the new EU states attending our homeless services. On an average day we will work with up to 50 such persons.
This trend could be reversed if the Government were to abandon the Habitual Residence Condition. Nonetheless, we now live in a multi-cultural Ireland where for many people English is not their first language. People from these communites are at least as likely to have problems with homelessness and destitution as anyone else. Those of us working in homeless and drugs services need to build our capacity to address the needs of the new Irish”.
I’m sure folks would be expecting me to look to dig the boot in on Pat’s proposal simply because he’s in government and my mob are not, but I won’t. In fact,I would be broadly supportive of Pat Carey’s efforts to have a needle exchange problem operating nationally. There might be some issues about specific locations but the concept is a good one. Truth is I think this is yet more evidence that Pat was one of the more thoughtful backbenchers and his omission from the previous minister of state lineup while his constituency colleague was included continues to baffle me.