Dr. Eamon Keenan:

We are waiting so long because we have been through a planning process involving An Bord Pleanála and a judicial review. We are at the end of that. Over the course of that five years, the cost of construction increased and we had to get additional funding. Regarding the supervised injecting facility, we are very clear that evaluations across Europe and North America have identified that there has been a reduction in drug-related litter, there has been an increase in access to services and there has been a reduction in overdoses. We clearly see these as having an evidence base.

We have been granted planning permission for 18 months from the opening of the facility. We plan an evaluation at six months so we can put the results of that evaluation into the planning process in order that it can continue at the end of 18 months. We do not want to have 18 months for it then to stop. However, we are going to need something to persuade Dublin City Council and the planning board to continue with it. That is why the evaluation at six months will feed into that. We also have committed, along with the Children's Ombudsman, to do an evaluation of the impact it would have on children in the local school.