Calls for residential detox centre for north east

Independent Cllr Paddy McQuillan first called for service in 2012

Cllr. Paddy McQuillan

June 07 2022 12:00 PM

Independent Councillor Paddy Mc Quillan is to call on Louth County Council to work with all Drug Service Providers in the north east to explore the possibility setting up a residential detox centre for the area.

Cllr. McQuallian told: “I first proposed this back in 2012 but I was informed by the HSE at the time that there was not a need for one in our area as the existing centres around the country were more than able to cope with the demand. I think that it is fair to say that given the amount of people availing of the service of The Red Door, over 200 weekly presentations, there is a need for this service in the area. In the first six months of this year, The Red Door has referred over thirty individuals to residential detox centres around the country from this Drogheda service alone”.

Full-time carers in Louth to receive increased pay

As it stands, there are no residential detox centres in the north east that service users of The Red Door can access. The waiting list for places can often take up to six months. People in recovery lucky enough to receive a placement must accept the offer they get which often means they must go to counties Down, Kildare, Wicklow, Offlay, Limerick od Dublin. This can be a burden on families wishing to visit loved ones.

McQuillan, who is part of the Louth Drug & Alcohol Forum, feels that there is a need for such a service in the area.

“I will be bringing this to the next meeting of the Louth Drug and Alcohol Forum. We are well through the looking glass when it comes to our drug problem in Drogheda and the north east of the country more generally. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn’t exist. There is a definite need for such a service and I would like to see the conversation start to explore possible ways we can make this happen. Action 3.6 of the Geiran Implementation plan states, ‘Agencies working in the substance use field in Drogheda should look at practical ways of interagency cooperation, including the identification and implementation of appropriate gateways to treatment and progression routes for service users.”

“It is a recommendation in the Geiran Report and I believe we should explore all avenues to make it a reality for people suffering from addiction in Louth and the north east of the country more widely”, he added.

Calls for residential detox centre for north east

Read More

This is Louth Newsletter

Read More

Most Read