Over 10 per cent of heroin users in Dublin are under the age of 19, according to this year's annual report of the Drug Treatment Centre Board (DTCB).
Of the total receiving treatment at the board’s premises in Trinity Court, Dublin, 99 were between 15 and 19, and two were under 15.
In 2000, there were 81,650 client visits to Trinity Court, covering 1,034 clients, 833 of whom received methadone treatment representing 16.5 per cent of the national, total.
Speaking at the launch of the report, DTCB chairman Mr Denis McCarthy said last year was a particularly difficult year with a heroin crisis on the streets of Dublin that killed several addicts from Toxic Shock Syndrome.
Hepatitis C, he said, continues to be one of the major health risks to drug users with the figure for contamination due to shared needles as high as 80 per cent.
Mr McCarthy also warned that the co-abuse of benzodiazedpines was also on the increase in Dublin. "Sophisticated testing and screening measures have been put in place to monitor and evaluate these trends," he said.
Among the key activities of the DTCB in 2000 were:
- Expansion of blood-borne viral screening services
- Creation of a dedicated women's health clinic.
- Establishment of a "walk-in" rapid-assessment service
- Provision of training services in third-level and medical institutions.