Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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577. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the major epidemic of opiate drugs being taken in midland towns, namely Athy, County Kildare; and his plans to open a new drug treatment clinic, including methadone treatment, in County Kildare. [50586/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The HSE provides opioid substitution (mainly methadone) in a number of treatment settings to meet the needs of individual drug users. These settings include:

- primary care through GPs and community pharmacies;

- treatment centres where opioid substitution treatment is dispensed on site; and

- residential rehabilitation facilities. 

Currently there are two Level II Community GPs and 6 Level I Community GPs in Kildare who provide treatment to a total of 105 patents. There are 25 people on a waiting list for treatment in Kildare and the GP coordinator meets with local GPs regularly with a view of arranging treatment. The HSE Addiction Service has three counsellors for Kildare who provide services in Kildare Town, Kilcullen, Athy, Newbridge, Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip and Kilcock. These services can be accessed by persons from outside of these locations.

In addition to the above, the HSE provide Outreach Services, which include a harm reduction and needle exchange programme in Newbridge and a mobile Outreach Service in Naas. In response to the demand for treatment in Kildare, the HSE Addiction Service Dublin Mid Leinster is in the early stages of developing a plan to provide treatment services from a central location in 2014. This centre will provide a range of services by a multidisciplinary team.