The first specific methadone clinic has been opened by the Western Health Board in Galway city to wean local heroin users off the drug.
Although the heroin problem in Galway city is small compared to other urban areas, the regional drugs services co-ordinator, Ms Fiona Walsh, anticipates that the numbers of users will slowly rise and gardaí have already reported an increase in young people smoking heroin.
Over the past four years, the health board have treated 28 heroin users in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, with 18 of these in Galway city. However, this is the first time the region has had a specific methadone clinic where heroin users can go once a week to see a doctor and get a prescription for methadone, and also see an addiction counsellor.
Ms Walsh explained that there is no methadone kept at the clinic which is located at the health board's premises in Shantalla - patients bring their prescriptions to the local pharmacy and collect their dose of methadone every day.
The health board don't know the actual number of heroin users in Galway city.
However, they are operating an open door policy at the clinic so anybody needing treatment can go there. Ms Walsh said: "We will only be treating local people, but how do you define local and how long does somebody have to be here before they are local?
"What we don't want is to encourage people from anywhere else to come to Galway for methadone treatment."
Methadone is an oral opiate substitute which reduces the craving for heroin and helps people to withdraw from the drug.
Ms Walsh said she believes the way to prevent the heroin problem from getting out of control in Galway is through risk assessment, early intervention and maintaining a close relationship with the local gardaí and the probation services.