Criticism of live-in services for cocaine addicts rejected

The Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy has rejected criticism of a lack of residential services for cocaine addicts in the State, saying drug treatment was "not all about beds".

Defending the Government's record in tackling the spread of cocaine use, Noel Ahern said it had piloted a number of specific anti-cocaine projects, including training schemes aimed at helping community workers to deal more effectively with the drug.

However, he admitted: "As people come forward and as people identify that they have problems from cocaine, we will have to put more resources into it."

Mr Ahern was speaking after the publication yesterday of an Oireachtas committee report on the use of cocaine in Ireland, which identified a dearth of designated treatment services, as well as widespread public ignorance about the dangers of the drug.

The report of the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs contained a study of addiction services conducted by a research team from Cluain Mhuire treatment centre in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

Speaking at a meeting of the committee yesterday, Cluain Mhuire clinical director Dr Siobhán Barry said a survey of service providers found psychological and complementary treatments for cocaine addicts were "relatively thin on the ground relative to the numbers".

In addition, there were indications of "considerable shortfalls" in standards, with evidence of some people not being trained to deliver some of the complementary treatments they were offering.

Citing a shortage of inpatient services, she said international evidence showed that people offered residential intervention tended to do better than those who drifted in and out of day care. Her study added that "a wide range of intervention programmes" should be available in a therapeutic, community-style setting, which offered places of a number of months' duration.

Such services, which were particularly needed by people at risk of relapse, should represent the apex of a "tiered intervention pyramid," the report added.

Mr Ahern conceded treatment services were at present "more geared" for heroin, as it was deemed to be the priority about a decade ago. However, he said, funding under the National Drugs Strategy had risen by 18 per cent this year to deal with new challenges such as cocaine.

"Most people will be cured of their addiction in the community.It's not necessarily about beds. It's not necessarily about sort of 15-month residential programmes," Mr Ahern added.

"It was easy enough for opiates to an extent, because we had methadone, which is an obvious substitute treatment. There is no equivalent for cocaine."