An Garda Síochána is supporting the forthcoming supervised injecting centre not just because it’s Government policy but because it is the “right thing to do”, Dublin’s police chief says.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy said the actual enforcement of the law around the centre will be a “learning curve” but noted that it will involve the same use of discretion that gardaí have always practised.
Speaking at the Dublin City Council joint policing committee, the head of Dublin Metropolitan Region said “policing never cured drug addiction” and that anything that “saved lives is a plus”.
He was commenting at a debate in the committee on the proposed medically supervised injected facility (MSIF), which received a presentation from the head of HSE addiction services Dr Eamon Keenan.
The consultant psychiatrist told councillors that the “bottom line” is that MSIF saves lives of the most marginalised, homeless injectors and that the facility will be cost-effective. Based on North American estimates, the €2.8m being spent by the HSE on the facility will recoup €5.47m in savings.
Source: Cormac O'Keeffe, The Irish Examiner, 09/05/18
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