Ireland will have to look at the possibility of introducing needle-exchange programmes for drug users, Minister of State with responsibility for drugs strategy Pat Carey said today.
Mr Carey was speaking in Dublin at an event to mark the publication of the annual report of the Merchants Quay Ireland Project, which is seeking such a scheme.
Ireland's biggest voluntary drug treatment facility revealed it treated almost 5,000 drug users who were injecting heroin or cocaine last year.
Mr Carey said: "We've got to look at the availability of needle exchange in other parts of the country.
"In particular, the Programme for Government . . . is focusing on the new towns, the new commuter towns and how we can be proactive in preventing drug misuse . . . coming to the same almost epidemic proportions as it is in parts of Dublin city."
More than 1,700 of the people treated by Merchants Quay last year were classified as "new injectors" whose drug problem had reached a chronic stage, forcing them to seek help.
According to the annual report for 2006, about one in 20 of the service's new clients are from EU accession states, mainly Poland.
Merchants Quay said it also saw a very significant increase in the number of eastern and central Europeans accessing its homeless services.
Merchants Quay director Tony Geoghegan said: "The real value of them [needle-exchange programmes] is that they are often the first point at which a drug user will access services, it's a way of drawing them into treatment options.
"We don't have [State] needle exchanges at the moment. That means we're not reaching a lot of users, and if you can't reach them you can't help them."
Merchants Quay, on Dublin's south quays, also saw a significant increase in the number of cocaine injectors seeking treatment last year. About 20 per cent of its injectors were using cocaine.
Separately, communities in north-west Dublin will be given the opportunity to have their say about drug-related needs in their area.
From next Monday, public meetings will be held at 12 locations as part of the largest ever community consultation process, and residents from areas including Clonsilla, Tyrellstown, Ongar and Castleknock will take part. Some 30,000 questionnaires will be distributed.