Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The issue I raise is a proposal by the Health Service Executive to establish a methadone clinic in Coolmine industrial estate in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. No one is opposed to the provision of a methadone clinic or the idea that users of methadone should be facilitated in their own communities. Methadone treatment services are currently provided by Connolly Hospital, which is close to the Coolmine industrial estate. This arrangement will cease in the near future and the clinic will move to the industrial estate where it will be housed next door to a workshop staffed by people with an intellectual disability and operated under the auspices of the Daughters of Charity. Needless to say, the parents of those employed in the workshop are concerned about the impact this new arrangement will have on their adult children given that they have intellectual disabilities.

It appears the HSE is seeking to pit the vulnerable against the vulnerable in choosing the location in question for a methadone clinic. The executive did not engage in any consultation with public representatives, which is unusual, or other parties involved in the industrial estate, including the Daughters of Charity and Tofa, which operates the workshop in question. Planning permission to dispense methadone from the facility has not been granted, although it is required, and the HSE has not yet given any indication that it will be sought.

Potential alternative locations for a methadone facility are available in the vicinity of the Blanchardstown centre and Connolly Hospital. The centre should not be located next door to a workshop for people with intellectual disabilities. I ask the Minister to convey the united wish of the community and all parties who have been represented at the public meetings on this issue that there be a proper consultation with their potential neighbours, and that alternative locations be considered within the Dublin 15 area.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this adjournment debate on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children.

The management and delivery of health and personal social services, including methadone services, are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it provides me with an opportunity to outline the actions being taken by the HSE to expand the availability and access to drug treatment services within the Blanchardstown area.

Under the interim national drugs strategy for 2009 to 2016, the HSE is implementing part of "Action 34" by providing methadone clinics in targeted areas where waiting lists have emerged. Until now, services in the Blanchardstown area have been fragmented and delivered from several different sites. The new facility in the Coolmine industrial estate will provide a "one-stop shop" for the provision of addiction services to clients in the area. In late 2008, the HSE was advised that the premises was becoming available. As the premises is adjacent to two community drug projects and had planning permission for community services use, it was considered an ideal location for a treatment centre. Community services provide a range of support services, including dispensing.

The HSE replicated its successful delivery of drug treatment centres, such as the Wellmount in Finglas, by engaging with the Blanchardstown local drugs task force as the consultative channel. All key stakeholders such as statutory, community and political representatives are members of the task force. There was unanimous support and approval from the task force for the provision of addiction services at these premises. The new premises will provide a full range of treatment and rehabilitation options. The interventions available will provide assessment, advice and counselling services. It will also include stabilisation, treatment, detoxification and access to rehabilitation and integration services. The services will be delivered through a care planning process by a multi-disciplinary team. It will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The service will begin on a half-day basis initially and will progress to a full day.

This is a key action in the 2010 HSE national service plan. It is part of a comprehensive harm reduction programme that the HSE is implementing across the country. There are an estimated 14,500 opiate users in Ireland. According to the latest figures available at the end of December 2009, there were 9,047 clients receiving methadone maintenance treatment services. Of these, 5,382 had their methadone dispensed by pharmacists in the community rather than in specialist addiction clinics. The number of GPs providing methadone maintenance treatment at the end of December 2009 was 277, while the number of pharmacies involved was 480. The HSE is planning to expand these services in 2010.