The system by which one Dublin District Court yesterday offered rehabilitation instead of prison to drug addicts convicted of offences may be extended to higher courts, the Minister for Justice said.
Speaking before the first sitting of a drugs court in the State, Mr O'Donoghue said that when its work was evaluated after 18 months, the possibility of extending it "within the hierarchy of courts in our judicial system" would be looked at. It could, for example, deal with certain larceny offences which came before the Circuit Court.
He said drug courts could also be extended to areas outside Dublin. However, the court mainly targeted heroin users, and if the service was to be extended to Cork or other cities, the extent of drug abuse in those areas would first have to be examined. The Drugs Court will sit twice weekly in the old Richmond Hospital as part of an 18month pilot scheme and will deal with a maximum of 100 defendants, the first of whom appears before Judge Gerard Haughton on Tuesday.
Defendants will be over 17 and have pleaded guilty or been found guilty of a drug or drug-related offence of a non-violent nature that would ordinarily warrant imprisonment by the District Court. They will be referred to the Drugs Court, where supervised treatment programmes will be devised for their rehabilitation, with the ultimate goal being that they enter employment or education.
Mr O'Donoghue said the new courts would "save" young drug addicts who up to this had led hopeless lives. He said up to 75 per cent of those dealt with by drug courts in some parts of the US did not reoffend, and he was hoping for similar success rates here.
Two community gardai in Dublin's north inner city will be in court to effect arrest warrants for any defendant who does not appear, or who does not adhere to the terms of their programme.
Lawyers will only become involved if there is a question of the defendant's treatment programme being terminated.
A nurse will be present at each sitting to take urine samples from those suspected of being under the influence of drugs and in breach of bail conditions. Ms Sue Jefferies, a nurse attached to a drugs court in Sydney, will advise her on how to run the service.
Drug courts have been operating in Sydney for almost two years and Ms Jefferies said she was "cautiously optimistic" about their results. She warned that recovering from drug addiction was a slow process.
Doctors treating drug addicts have threatened not to co-operate with the new courts unless their pay and working conditions are improved.
They will meet the three area health boards in the eastern region on Friday in an attempt to resolve the problem.