This centre will have the capacity to "save lives".
A new medically supervised injection centre is set to open within the next 12 months.
At the end of 2022, An Bord Pleanála granted temporary permission for Ireland's first facility of this nature to open in Dublin. Merchants Quay will host the facility, a nonprofit organisation that provides services for people who are homeless and those struggling with addiction.
Merchants Quay will become a supervised injection facility for a period of 18 months, after which a review will take place to determine how its presence is affecting the surrounding area.
Chief executive of Merchants Quay Ireland Eddie Mullins recently told
The Journal that getting the project running is the "
absolute priority" for them over the next year.
Mullins believes that these kinds of facilities will "
save lives" and hopes that following a successful trial run that Ireland will see the roll-out of mobile injection clinics, the likes of which that already operate in Portugal. These clinics have the ability to bring the resource to specific communities that might need them.
The centre will allow drug addicts to inject themselves in a safe environment, with clean needles, and provides space for drug waste to be disposed of correctly.
In the event of an overdose, immediate care would be provided.
Header image via Merchants Quay Ireland
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