The article which included research from the Matt Talbot Adolescent Services (MTAS) society in Cork showed that children as young as eight years old have begun using hard drugs including heroin.
The article went on to state that "there are only 28 detox beds for an estimated 14,500 heroin users in Ireland and none of those detox beds are in Cork or the Munster area. Waiting lists of up to one year for treatment exist in the public healthcare system."Such statistics make the Dublin government's proposals to cut €2.6 million in funding to the National Drugs Strategy even more outrageous.
Current statistics clearly show a rise in the number of people attending drug addiction services. It is completely unacceptable to expect these services to continue to operate with a smaller budget when they are already hugely underfunded.
Ógra Shinn Féin demand that adequate resources be provided to tackle drug and alcohol addiction. Any cuts to drug addiction services are completely unacceptable.
No comments:
Post a Comment