Drug project row escalates

MEMBERS of a drug task force in Blanchardstown have threatened to resign in a row over the closure of a local project.

THE ADAPT drug and alcohol service is set to close for good in July following a decision by the board of management to wind down the project.

The project was supported with funding from the HSE, which has backed the board’s decision. To assist with the winding down, the HSE has set up a group to look at services run by ADAPT that need immediate cover.

However, Dublin West community representatives claim they’ve been excluded from the process and members of the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force (BLDTF) say they’ll quit if they’re not involved.

“If our community are excluded from this process, then many of us see no purpose for the BLDTF and therefore will resign our positions as community representatives,” a spokesperson for BLDTF said.

Locals in Dublin 15 held a protest outside the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force (BLDTF) offices last week to voice their anger over ADAPT’s closure.

ADAPT (Addressing Drug & Alcohol Problems Together), based in Coolmine Industrial Estate since the late 1990s, was set up in 2013 following a merger of the Hartstown/Huntstown and Mountview/Blakestown community drug teams, which had been active since the late 1990s.

The project was set to be restructured but staff were informed last month that the board of management had decided to wind ADAPT down and they were to be made redundant on July 7.

Local Community representatives, Philip Keegan, Paul Donnelly, Lorna Nolan and Bob Tallant, issued a statement expressing their shock over the closure and dismay that the winding down is being managed by the HSE.

“We want a say in the wind down of ADAPT and the development of services in our community in Mountview, Blakestown, Hartstown and Huntstown,” their statement reads.

“We want to be partners in the development of a wider Dublin 15 drug strategy and the HSE must include community representatives in their ‘committee’ who are currently developing a strategy for the funding from ADAPT CDT.  

“The community were the catalyst for the establishment of the Blanchardstown Local Drugs Task Force (BLDTF) over 20 years ago and have been fully committed to collaborative, inter-agency and community based strategies for drug services in Dublin 15. 

“We have been, and are, committed to the ideal of everyone coming together and developing effective strategies to ensure we have services for those affected by problem drug use. 

“If our community are excluded from this process, then many of us see no purpose for the BLDTF and therefore will resign our positions as community representatives.”

In a response to queries from Northside People, the HSE outlined where ADAPT services will be relocated but did not respond directly to the community’s claims of exclusion.

“The Board of ADAPT advised CHO Dublin North City & County (CHO DNCC) that it had taken the decision to wind down ADAPT,” the HSE statement reads.

“The HSE fully supports the decision of the Board and is working closely with the Board to ensure that all service users who were accessing services from ADAPT are linked in and supported by other organisations/service providers in the area and that there is a smooth transition of services.”