The Easter Regional Health Authority (ERHA) is working closely with a number of international authorities to try to isolate and identify the exact cause of the heroin-related deaths in Dublin, the Minister for Health said.
Mr Martin said that the ERHA was in contact with the authorities in Glasgow, as well as the National Disease Surveillance Centre and the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta. The ERHA's department of public health had received notifications from the city and county coroner of 19 deaths of heroin-users since April. The Garda was investigating 14 of those cases and, of those, seven fitted the case-definition, four did not, and three were being further investigated, said Mr Martin.
The Minister was responding, on the adjournment, to Mr Tommy Broughan (Labour, Dublin North East) said that there was a Dublin-wide emergency situation.