Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

The logic of the Minister of State's response is that the services provided by the Aisling Clinic should be retained on-site in the Cherry Orchard Hospital or, at least, in the Ballyfermot area. She noted that services should be linked to a primary care centre and referred to a continuum of care to address general social, housing, educational and employment needs. If one is in Ballyfermot, one is in the Dublin City Council area and there is a council office down the road. The local employment service is in Ballyfermot, not Clondalkin.

There is a logic here, which is why we are appealing to the Minister to intervene and ensure that the Aisling Clinic does not close in March or April, but remains open until such time as a suitable site is found for the cohort of recovering drug addicts and alcoholics who attend this clinic. There is quite a number. There is not sufficient capacity among the local doctors or pharmacies to take on these clients. They have already taken on a quota. There are 120 people from Ballyfermot attending this clinic daily and 150 who attend it weekly. That is the scale of the service offered by the centre and the challenge for the Minister and the HSE is to locate these services in Ballyfermot.

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