Parents who use drugs are afraid to ask for help because they fear their children may be taken away from them, a new study has found.
Dr Diane Hogan and Ms Louise Higgins at The Children's Research Centre, carried out the study which focused on 100 children aged between four and 11, half of whom had drug-abusing parents. The other 50 were from similar social and economic backgrounds.
The study found that support services for the children are inadequate. It also found a large variation in the capacity of drug-using parents, with some managing quite well to take care of their children.
Mr Eoin Ryan, Minister for Local Development with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, said it was "important not to dismiss drug users as irrevocably bad parents and break up the family, but rather to help the users deal with their dependence and strengthen their relationship with their children".
"In this context we hope to address, amongst other things, the need for more family support, integration of childcare facilities for treatment and rehabilitation facilities and developing a range of treatment and rehabilitation options."