Mr. Eddie Mullins:

I am the CEO of Merchants Quay Ireland, MQI. I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to speak here today.

Merchants Quay Ireland is a registered charity providing a wide range of services to people who are in addiction and who may also be experiencing homelessness or be struggling with their mental health. Last year, over 13,500 people came to Merchants Quay Ireland for support. Our services range from harm reduction needle exchange to prison counselling, family supports and recovery services. We provide low-threshold day services offering crisis intervention, food, showers, harm reduction and primary healthcare. Our healthcare service includes a doctor, nurse, dentist, counsellor and mental health team, as well as chiropody. Merchants Quay Ireland offers residential detoxification, rehabilitation and aftercare services, which are aimed at supporting people in their recovery journey. We also run Jane’s Place, an all-female service offering one-to-one and group support to women dealing with complex issues of homelessness and addiction.

As a front-line service working daily with people who are homeless and struggling with their mental health and drug problems, MQI is an expert in the field of addiction. As such, we are well positioned to contribute to the debate on drug use in Ireland. In our submission to the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs in June 2023, Merchants Quay Ireland proposed 24 evidence-based recommendations. We believe the implementation of these recommendations would ensure a health-led response to drug use that would, in turn, reduce the harmful impact of illicit drugs on individuals, families and wider society, and would also support more people into recovery.

Due to time constraints, I will summarise MQI’s recommendations as follows. First, we recommend increased investment in recovery services. We need to provide people with greater access to residential and community-based detox, rehabilitation and aftercare programmes. Importantly, people leaving these programmes must have access to secure accommodation. Nobody should be facing homelessness in the early stages of their recovery because it makes an incredibly difficult journey an almost impossible one.

For those people who want to access recovery but who are struggling in active addiction, MQI recommends the establishment of a rapid access stabilisation service and the appointment of specialist addiction nurses to emergency departments.

To support people using drugs today, we recommend increased investment in harm reduction services. The opening of the medically supervised injecting facility later this year at MQI’s Riverbank centre will be a vital harm reduction measure. This facility will save lives and help to create a safer community for everyone. Drug use in Ireland is constantly changing and, given the increased prevalence of cocaine and crack cocaine, MQI recommends legislating for the provision of drug consumption rooms.

MQI also recommends that the Government introduce legislation to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use. Decriminalisation, coupled with increased investment in treatment and harm reduction services, will give people the best opportunity to rebuild their lives.

MQI recommends increased investment in drug-related research. Given the growing complexity of drug use, research is crucial to responding effectively to future challenges and emerging drug trends.

To meet the complex needs of women in addiction, MQI believes the State must invest in female-specific services. Women often feel too ashamed, stigmatised and afraid to seek the help they need. Female-only spaces give women greater emotional and physical safety, especially those women who have experienced gender-specific violence, transactional sex and coercive control.

Ensuring a compassionate, health-led approach to drug use will also help to reduce stigma. This is important because stigma is one of the biggest barriers to treatment and recovery and can make it difficult for our clients to ask for help when they need it. These recommendations, if implemented, have the power to save and transform lives.

Drug use is pervasive throughout Irish society, regardless of age, gender or socioeconomic status. Every day, MQI witnesses the harmful impacts of drug use on individuals, families, communities and our wider society. It must be acknowledged, however, that areas of poverty and social deprivation are significantly more impacted by drug use and drug-related intimidation. We believe it is vital to maintain focus on the prevalence of addiction and to adopt a compassionate health-led approach to delivering services which reduce harm and support recovery. The national drugs strategy, which forms the current policy background against which the committee considers these matters, is fundamental to addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.

On behalf of Merchants Quay Ireland, I look forward to today’s discussion and I hope our professional insights relating to the committee's work will prove useful.