Independent Councillor for Drogheda, Paddy Mc Quillan, is to call on Louth County Council to work with all Drug Service Providers in the north east to explore the possibility setting up a residential detox centre for the area.
Mc Quillan first proposed such a service ten years ago but was informed by the HSE at the time that there was no need for such a centre in the area as the existing centres around the country were more than able to cope with the demand.
That was then but today Councillor McQuillan said that with the number of people availing of the services of The Red Door reaching over 200 weekly presentations, there is a need for this service in the area now.
“In the first six months of this year, The Red Door has referred over thirty individuals to residential detox centres around the country from this Drogheda service alone” he said.
“As it stands, there are no residential detox centres in the north east that service users of The Red Door can access. The waiting list for places can often be up to six months.
“Even then, people in recovery who are lucky enough to receive a placement must accept the offer they get which often means they must travel to counties Down, Kildare, Wicklow, Offlay, Limerick or Dublin which can be a burden on families wishing to visit loved ones.
Mc Quillan, who is part of the Louth Drug and Alcohol Forum, feels that there is a need for such a service in the area and says he will be raising the issue at their next meeting
“We are well through the looking glass when it comes to our drug problem in Drogheda and the north east of the country more generally. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. There is a definite need for such a service and I would like to see the conversation start to explore possible ways we can make this happen.
“Action 3.6 of the Geiran Implementation plan states, ‘Agencies working in the substance use field in Drogheda should look at practical ways of interagency cooperation, including the identification and implementation of appropriate gateways to treatment and progression routes for service users’.
“It is a recommendation in the Geiran Report and I believe we should explore all avenues to make it a reality for people suffering from addiction in Drogheda and the north east of the country more widely”, he added.
