The Government has shown a complete lack of will to tackle Cork’s growing heroin epidemic, Cork Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune said after raising the drugs crisis in the Dáil this week.

Deputy Clune said the Government is fooling itself if it believes progress is being made in addressing Cork’s heroin problem. Speaking after the Dáil debate, Deputy Clune said: ‘Everyone working on the front line in Cork knows that heroin use is growing. There is now widespread fear that the city will see the rise in violence associated with the drug’.

The heroin epidemic is already firmly entrenched in the city:

The number of detections of heroin has shot up from four in 2004 to 159 last year, a 40-fold increase;

There were six heroin related deaths in 2007, eight in 2008 and tragically there have been four such deaths in the past five weeks alone;

There has been a massive rise in the number of addicts seeking treatment, with more than 100 people treated in 2008;

Some people have to wait more than a year for methadone treatment, during which time they will almost certainly continue to use the drug, putting their health at risk, and placing enormous strain on their families as they struggle to find the estimated €100 to €300 per day required to feed the habit.

The Gardaí set up a dedicated heroin unit in Cork in 2006 in response to the growing problem. However, the Government’s response has been belated at best.

When Deputy Clune pressed the Government to take action, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, replying on behalf of Health Minister Mary Harney, listed a number of measures which fall far short of what is required. They include:

One additional GP in Arbour House, who has been in place since last January;
Additional methadone services are only now being developed in the city.

In fact, Minister Dempsey claimed that the Government is satisfied with the response, saying that ‘the Minister for Health & Children considers that progress is being made in this area both nationally and in the context of services being provided and developed in the Cork area’.

Despite what the Government is willing to admit, all the evidence on the ground points to a serious heroin problem that is rapidly getting worse. Until the Government faces up to the current reality on the ground the situation will continue to get worse, lives will be devastated and the city as a whole will suffer.