Drug-centre creche aid welcomed

A total of £30,000 is to be provided to train creche staff working in drug-treatment centres, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, has announced.

The Minister was speaking in Dublin yesterday at the publication of a report, The Availability, Use and Evaluation of Creche Facilities in Association With Drug Treatment.

The report, published by the Health Research Board, finds that of the 45 centres providing treatment to drug-misusers in Dublin, just nine - or 20 per cent - provide childcare facilities for their clients' children.

Ms Roslyn Moran, who wrote the study, said drug-misusing parents, particularly women, "frequently found themselves in a situation where they wanted to take more active steps to tackle their drug dependence but were unable to do so as they did not have access to regular child-minding arrangements."

The lack of childcare facilities also hindered their ability to access education or training, and so to break the cycle of unemployment, poverty and drug abuse.

Welcoming the Minister's announcement, Ms Moran said £30,000 was not "an enormous amount of money, but it's a start. At least they are beginning to look at the whole issue."

The parents, children and staff at six of the nine creches were interviewed for Ms Moran's report.