Labour welcomes Ireland’s first supervised injection facility
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin MEP has welcomed the opening of Ireland’s first medically supervised injection facility at Merchant Quay Ireland’s Riverbank Centre in Dublin, calling it a transformative step in drugs policy. The centre, which provides a safe, clean, and supervised environment for intravenous drug users to take pre-obtained drugs under the care of medical professionals, is a long-overdue measure to save lives and reduce harm in our communities.
Ó Ríordáin said:
“This is a historic day for drug policy in Ireland. Supervised injection facilities have been proven to save lives, reduce overdose deaths, and offer humane and compassionate care to those struggling with addiction. Labour has consistently advocated for harm reduction strategies like this, and I am proud to have brought this to Cabinet in 2015. However, it is deeply frustrating that it has taken nine years to implement this measure, as such delays have real consequences. I would like to congratulate Merchants Quay Ireland for their hard work, the Anna Liffey Project for their tireless campaigning, the Bar Council who drafted the original legislation and the politicians from Leinster House who supported this important legislation from the beginning.
“In Ireland, we have the third-highest overdose rate in Europe. Across the continent, over 80 supervised injection facilities have been established, and the evidence is clear: they prevent fatal overdoses, halt the spread of diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV, and clean up drug litter on our streets. Harm reduction works. It saves lives.
“Today’s opening represents a fundamental shift in how we treat addiction in this country, but it is just the beginning. Labour believes we must build on this step by moving toward the decriminalisation of drugs. Decriminalisation, combined with harm reduction strategies like supervised injection centres, will foster a public health approach that treats addiction as the health crisis it truly is. This development is a statement of compassion and humanity – that we see people struggling with addiction as deserving of care, support, and dignity.
“We can’t stop here. Ireland has taken an important step, but now is the time to act with urgency and ambition. We must expand these facilities to other large urban centres and decriminalise drug use.The success of this centre must now pave the way for supervised injection facilities to be rolled out in other urban centres like Cork and Limerick. Our communities cannot afford to wait any longer.”