Four reformed drug addicts from north inner city Dublin "graduated" yesterday from a pilot drugs rehabilitation scheme.
The group, all in their late 20s, received certificates from Judge Gerard Haughton at a special sitting of the Drugs Court in Richmond Courthouse. Judge Haughton acknowledged their successful completion of the scheme, which offers drug users a chance to give up their habit as an alternative to prison.
The participants on the Drugs Court programme, set up 18 months ago, have undergone an intensive period of stabilisation, counselling, support, training and assessment, supervised by a team of professionals.
Judge Haughton, presiding over the special district court sitting, spoke of the personal commitment of each participant in the programme.
Supreme Court Judge, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, chairperson of the Courts Service Board, also attended the ceremony.
"Drug abuse is a cancer in our society," she said afterwards. "It destroys individuals, families and communities. Court lists are filled with drug-related crime. Our prisons are full of inmates who have abused drugs. A cycle of addiction and crime, life and death, has been established around drug abuse," Mrs Justice Denham said.
Applications are initially assessed for suitability by the treatment team and a probation officer assigned to the court, with a treatment programme, is agreed for each participant and monitored by the court.
Following stabilisation, participants progress to rehabilitation with the eventual goal of entering employment or education.