Dr. Des Crowley:

I just want to make a point. We cannot forget about the link with HIV. I would like to underline the effectives of our ST services over 20 years in really eliminating HIV infection in people who use or inject drugs. There may be one or two very occasional new infections. However, in the area I have worked in, we have not had a new HIV infection in people who use drugs for maybe ten or 15 years. It is important to look at there being no obstacles to safe needle access and injecting equipment, because not alone is it about HIV, it is also about hepatitis C, which is a much more easily transmissible virus.

We are spending millions on our hepatitis C treatment programme, which is very effective. It is now in the community and GPs are involved. If people are continuing to inject, the risk of reinfection is enormous, we have to go back over it again and we also have resistance regarding the type of drugs that can be used. If we are looking at legislation, there should be no barriers. If somebody rocks up to their local pharmacy and need a needle exchange, it should be provided there. If they are in their OSD clinic, they should be able to get it there. If they are going to a stand-alone needle exchange, that should be provided as well.