New ‘postcard’ issued in latest drug clinic row

THE Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Rate Payers’ Association (DLRPA) has distributed another postcard to members in their efforts to have the local HSE run methadone clinic closed down.

Late last year, a postcard issued by the association, depicting addicts as zombies to highlight their campaign to close the clinic, created controversy with some politicians demanding that they apologise for it.

At the time a defiant Peter Kerrigan of the DLRPA said he was standing over the publication of the controversial card.

“To be honest with you, I’m more surprised than anything at the reaction to the cards,

? he told Southside People last November.

“I don’t understand why people are getting caught up with these cards. What about the 100 plus poor individuals who are being pumped up with methadone and then left to wander around the streets of Dun Laoghaire?

“Clearly this method of treating addictions and addicts has failed and yet the HSE insists on persisting with it.

“It’s a disgrace.

?

Now, the association has issued another postcard in what they have decided will be a series of similar efforts to have the clinic closed down.

This one depicts a syringe floating in the waters off Dun Laoghaire with the caption:

‘Mum, look what I caught!’

On the back of the card it suggests that there is a risk to children catching hepatitis from picking up discarded needles.

It is also accompanied by a petition calling for the clinic to be closed.
Last week, a spokesperson for the association stood over the decision to distribute the new postcard in their latest attempt to have the clinic, which first opened in 1996, closed.

“Look, the system just does not work,

? a spokesperson told Southside People.

“We had a public meeting recently where an expert from the UK told how similar treatment centres there move onto other methods to treat drug users after, at the maximum, two years of giving them methadone.

“Here, the HSE treats them with methadone for decades.

“It does not work and we are seeing the effects of that every day.

“And it is not just our members or businesses that are affected,

? he added.

“It is everybody, including the addicts.

?

When the zombie postcards were first issued, Cllr Jennifer Cuffe, who is a member of the Dun Laoghaire Drugs Task Force, criticised the

“negative tactics

? employed by the DLRPA and said the cards were

“absolutely disgusting

?.

But the association has vowed to continue issuing similar cards as part of their campaign.

“We’re not happy about the situation,

? the spokesperson added.

“But we are unapologetic about using these methods because we feel that we have to do this in order to highlight the issue until it is resolved. Until then, we will continue to campaign to have the clinic closed.

?

The HSE said in a statement that it was their collective responsibility to ensure that such vulnerable members of the community are treated and supported

“in the most appropriate setting and to assist them to achieve their full potential

?.

“The HSE Addiction Service remains fully committed to providing a quality service for those affected by addiction and who access Patrick Street Treatment Centre for treatment,

? the statement adds.

“The HSE Addiction Services has always engaged with the community in Dun Laoghaire to address issues and concerns raised and are happy to continue to work with our partner agencies to address all concerns.

?
in an appropriate and planned manner.

“Anti-social behaviour is not a matter for the HSE.

?