A LEADING drugs counsellor has warned that cutbacks in Government funding for drug services will be self-defeating and end up costing the State more in the long term.
Shay Pegley, general manager of Dublin-based Addiction Training Institute (ATI) Training and Education, said many drug treatment services were being asked to trim 2 per cent from their budgets because of cutbacks.
He said that such cutbacks, while not affecting present services, compromise the ability of drug rehabilitation facilities to plan for the future. Mr Pegley said there should be at least a 5 per cent increase in funding for the National Drugs Strategy in the next budget. The budget for this year is €64 million, an increase of €12.5 million on 2007.
Figures seen recently by this newspaper showed that the number of heroin addicts in treatment here is about to pass 10,000 for the first time, following large increases in the numbers presenting for treatment. Drug campaigners say even more treatment places are needed, as the Health Service Executive has admitted that there are not enough hospital beds for detoxifying addicts.
Mr Pegley said any cutbacks in the figure for next year would be shortsighted, and end up costing the State more in the long run. Following the seizure of €1 million worth of the drug in west Dublin, he explained that although significant efforts have been made, the problems of heroin addiction are ongoing with no end in sight.
"The crux of the matter is that drugs remain a social problem, as much as they are a crime problem. They are best dealt with at both the macro-environment and micro-environment level by social measures.
"The emphasis should always be on rehabilitation and treatment. In the past, Ireland has used the criminal justice system as a remedial measure, but the cost of keeping an addict in jail is far in excess of what it costs in treatment."
Mr Pegley encouraged the Government to continue supporting the preventative and rehabilitation services which are in place - despite the worsening economic climate.
"Continued resources targeted at limiting the supply of heroin and adequate support and rehabilitation services for addicts are essential. Any reduction in services would result in a worsening of the serious problems associated with heroin addiction," he said.
Mr Pegley said there also needed to be more resources to tackle heroin addiction outside Dublin, and especially in the Midlands, where there is a serious heroin problem.
He said the level of heroin addiction outside Dublin was under-reported because most addicts report to Dublin for treatment.
"We have noticed the problem increasing in the past five to seven years outside Dublin. People will not report to services in these areas because the substitute therapy, methadone, is not available so the problem is migrating to Dublin."
