Anti-drugs campaigner Cllr Jonathan O’Brien said there are signs the city is facing a heroin crisis similar to that which ravaged Dublin in the 1980s.
At least three men have died of suspected heroin overdoses in the Farranree and Knocknaheeny areas in recent weeks. "People may not be dying in the streets, but they are dying in people’s homes, in their front rooms, and in the bedrooms," said Mr O’Brien.
He has called for a range of state agencies to accept there is a major problem and to launch a co-ordinated effort over the next six months to tackle the problem head-on.
When heroin first became a problem in Cork about three years ago, Mr O’Brien said it was relatively isolated and contained. But dealers started giving the drug out free and now people from as young as 16 are hooked. He has received phone calls from concerned residents complaining of a massive surge in heroin activity. In some cases, used needles are being thrown over the boundary walls of "heroin houses" into the gardens of homes where children play.
"I can walk 10 minutes from my house and buy heroin, and walk another five minutes and find a heroin house where I could buy it and consume it. It’s unlike any drug I’ve ever seen. I’ve heard frightening stories. I know of a suspected dealer who knocked on the door of the parents of an addict demanding money and threatening, unless the debt was paid, they would find their son in a ditch," he said.
Mr O’Brien praised gardaí for their efforts but said more manpower is needed. He said the judiciary needs to take a harder line, citing a recent court case where a man convicted of possessing heroin in Cork received a suspended sentence. "What kind of message does that send out?" he asked.
The city council also needs to take firm action, he said. Under new legislation, local authorities only need a strong suspicion of antisocial behaviour to secure an eviction order from one of their properties.
Source: Eoin English, The Irish Examiner, 19/06/2009
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