Drug rehab plan shelved as Donohoe intervenes

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has intervened to prevent the setting up of a service for recovering drug addicts in his constituency.

The intervention came after he was told by local residents there were plans to establish a methadone clinic in two houses on Botanic Road in Glasnevin, in Mr Donohoe’s Dublin Central constituency. The rumour was inaccurate as the service included medical facilities but no provision for dispensing methadone.

Following contact from the residents, the minister wrote to the chief executive of Simon, Sam McGuinness, and met with Dublin City Council chief Owen Keegan.

As a result of the latter meeting, Simon was contacted by the council’s planning enforcement section and the addiction services department of the HSE, and.

Following those contacts, the plan was abandoned.

“I understand arising from the engagement of both state agencies, Dublin Simon agreed not to proceed with the proposed residential recovery service,” Mr Donohoe wrote to residents at the weekend.

The houses will now be used for long-term housing for Simon Community clients. The minster was first informed of his constituents’ concerns on Tuesday and Simon’s original plan was abandoned by Friday.

In a letter from Dublin Simon to the minister, Mr McGuinness denied that there ever was any plan to establish a methadone clinic.

“Reference to methadone clinics attached to our Residential Recovery Service proposal are profoundly untrue, exaggerated and unhelpful in enabling engagement as part of our communication with the neighbourhood,” Dublin Simon wrote to the minister.

According to the letter, Simon had been operating on advice that suggested there was no requirement to apply specifically for planning for the residential service in the two houses on Botanic Road. This position was revised following the meetings with the planning authority and the HSE. Local residents had not been informed of the planned service.

“Dublin Simon Community is well aware of the anxiety and concerns our proposals has had on residents in the communities in the surrounding area,” according to the letter from Simon.

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, Mr Donohoe said he was very supportive of the work of Simon.

“Just last Monday I was with them at the commencement of work for a few facility in Phibsboro in the heart of my constituency,” he said.

“But nobody knew anything about this development of a new service and it is imperative that if it is going to go ahead, that local residents are aware of what is happening. Regardless of whether planning is needed or not, they should let people know what is under way.”