The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, was accused yesterday of failing to implement an important protocol which would put in place strict controls on the prescribing and dispensing of methadone.
Labour Party Health spokesperson Ms Roisin Shortall said an expert group report on the establishment of a protocol for the prescribing of methadone had been on the Minister for Health's desk since April, but Mr Cowen had failed to act on the matter.
The lack of comprehensive regulations had created a flourishing black market for the drug, she said.
