Injection centre 'would support people'
A push was made by City Hall this week for a supervised injection centre to be set up on Leeside.
The Chief Executive of Cork City Council Ann Doherty made the call on Monday with the Lord Mayor of Cork backing her plea.
Ms Doherty was speaking during a Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) meeting about the city centre.
She said: “If there was something we could collectively put our energies into would be securing a supervised injection centre for our city. We met a previous minister in relation to this a number of years ago.”
She said An Garda Síochána, the HSE, businesses and City Hall worked together and it was agreed that a supervised injection centre could work successfully on Leeside.
“But we were pushed to the end of the queue because Dublin had to go first,” she added.
She appealed Oirechtas members on the JPC that this is where help is needed at a national level.
“A supervised injection centre would support people with addiction problems in our city rather than what is current scenario. Definitely I think as part of our wider strategy that this is a really important one,” she told the virtual meeting.
The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Colm Kelleher supported what Ms Doherty said adding that he was in favour of supervised injection centres.
“As Chairman of the JPC and as the Lord Mayor, I am appealing to our Oireachtas members too to keep it on the radar. It can be implemented in our city fairly effectively and fairly easily. People’s lives are depending on it. I am appealing to our Oireachtas member to keep it front and centre.”
Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire said he would raise the issue at a national level.
New figures
Meanwhile at the same meeting stats were released about drug offences in the Cork City Garda Division, which are up 22 per cent. Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin revealed the new figures as he compared crime data for 1 January-31 August 2021 with the same time in 2020. While the cultivation or manufacturing of drugs is down from 11 to ten, possession of drugs for sale or supply rose by 13 per cent, from 198 to 224. Possession of drugs for personal use increased by 25 per cent from 767 to 958. Chief Superintendent McPolin said: “Pandemic or no pandemic, drugs are very much on the agenda. People are abusing them and taking them socially and otherwise. Our drug and policing teams are very busy. There’s been a record number of searches conducted across the city and it’s reflected on these figures.”