Security response to drug use is criticised

The Government seemed intent on adopting a security-based response to the drug problem, an approach which had failed elsewhere in Europe and in the US, a Dublin seminar has been told.

The director of services at the Merchants Quay Ireland drugs project said it was "dispiriting to see that the new Minister for Justice appears to feel that investing in policing and prisons will reduce drug-related problems in Ireland".

Opening a two-day conference on homelessness and drug use, hosted by MQI, Mr Tony Geoghegan said that such measures had already been tried here, with no impact on the numbers using drugs. "The Government will get better value for money, and make a positive difference to people's lives, by investing in disadvantaged communities and in policies proven to minimise harm associated with homelessness and drug use."

Mr Geoghegan also said that the numbers using MQI's services were increasing every year, and there were now thought to be as many as 15,000 heroin users in the State and 5,000 homeless people on any one night. Yet, from the conduct of the recent general election campaign, "one could be forgiven for concluding that such problems did not exist in Ireland".

But the Minister of State responsible for the National Drug Strategy, Mr Noel Ahern, told the conference that the Government was setting out to tackle the drug problem "in the most comprehensive way ever undertaken in Ireland". The seven-year strategy would do this by concentrating on "the four pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment, and research". There was "no single drug problem with a single clear-cut solution".

Mr Ahern said that, given the growing incidence of drug abuse among homeless people, there was a need for services and facilities which catered for their needs.

"As everybody here is aware, homeless drug misusers are an extremely vulnerable and marginalised group. They can often be caught in a vicious cycle from which they find it difficult to escape", Mr Ahern said.

"If you are a drug misuser, it can often lead to homelessness, and your behaviour may lead to your being excluded from homeless services. On the other hand, if you are homeless and a drug misuser, taking part in a drug treatment project can be more difficult, with an increased risk of relapse."