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King Johns Castle, in Limerick City Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Heroin problem in Limerick is getting worse, says councillor

9 year old girl was hospitalised in Limerick after falling into a rubbish tip with used heroin syringe.

THE HEROIN PROBLEM in Limerick city is getting worse,  a City Councillor has told thejournal.ie, as city residents expressed their fury over an incident in which a 9 year old girl came in contact with a used heroin syringe.

Holly Sheehy, a 9 year old girl from Nun’s Island in the city centre, was playing in a laneway near her home when she fell into a rubbish heap that contained a heroin needle. Her fingertip touched the needle, which doctors confirmed contained heroin.

“There is a sense that things are getting worse” Cllr Maurice Quinlivan, a Sinn Féin representative, said.   “There is open drug dealing and taking on our streets and the problem is not going to go away until the government commits to doing something about it. We don’t even have a detoxification centre in the city but were promised one last year” he said.

There are over 600 heroin addicts in Limerick city.

However, the situation in Limerick is not unique, according to a spokesperson at Merchants Quay Ireland Homeless and Drugs Services.

The number of heroin addicts in Ireland is the highest in the EU, he said, with “the recession exacerbating the problem across the whole country, in small towns as well as large ones.”

“The likes of Ennis, Nenagh and Clonmel have big problems because everything happens on two streets” added Tom Gleeson, Chairperson of the Mid West drugs task force.  “Drug use in those areas has been phenomenal,” he told the thejournal.ie.

Meanwhile Quinlivan says that the only way to put an end to the problem is by taking on the gangs who deal the drugs.

“But there are only two CAB (Criminal Assets Bureau) officers in the city. The emphasis should be on tackling the drug dealers who have profited from the trade. But they continue to amass vast sums of money. They are untouchable.”

Gardaí seize €2.25 million worth of heroin in Dublin >

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    Mute Thomas Daniel Foy
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:41 PM

    Education about drugs needs to begin at the preteen ages. Something has to be done to show youth the problems of drugs before they have a chance to start using

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    Mute Rónán O'Suilleabháin
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:58 PM

    I disagree.

    Everyone knows that drugs are bad when their kids. This holds true until they see friends not going off the rails on drugs, and they potentially try them themselves. Then they ask “what’s all the fuss about”. Social drug taking precedes all dependent drug taking. The problem is that once people take them a few times they realise:
    1. Hey, I didn’t drink too much water and die after that yoke. I’m in the 99.99% of people that don’t die after yokes
    2. Hey, I still went to school/work/college today. Sure I was lazy straight after that joint, but I’m still functioning
    3. Hey, I took a trip and neither went on a knifing spree nor thought I could fly out a window. I didn’t even think I was a regal lizard.

    The focus is too much on misinformation about extreme corner cases involving drug taking, rather than the slow build of issues that they cause in much more people – such as causing (or exacerbating pre-existing, jury is still out) mental health issues. Long term apathy, gradual social isolation from family and friends and increasingly moving in drop out circles is a far bigger problem. Yet we allow a big win for the “drugs are ok” argument by having a bunch of lies and exaggeration immediately dispelled after a couple of uses.

    It’s been all over the media again this week, as some people jumped to “whacko, high on drink and drugs, stabs 7 in dance music frenzy”. This type of ignorant crap is precisely why we fail to address the misuse of drugs (they have their uses, you know) in society, because we won’t spend 5 minutes learning what they are – we’d rather propagate hyperbole via pamphlets and fight a losing war of supply control.

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    Mute Katie Does
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:22 PM

    @ronan You are a rock of good sense and that is an excellent analysis of what’s wrong with drugs education and policy.

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    Mute John Murray
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:42 PM

    @ Ronan. Perfectly sums up how society’s attitude to addiction is being mishandled at root level. I remember dabbling in late teens/early twenties and thinking ‘what harm?’ until I started noticing friends moving on to better highs and some severe personality changes. I was lucky to escape at that point and never did yokes . A bad acid trip first time trying scared me enough that I moved on. Some of the gang I got mixed in with died years later and some suffered mental illnesses. Lucky escape personally.

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    Mute Mark Larson
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:47 PM

    Limerick, Cork, Galway, heroin is a problem in Ireland and has been since the 80s, lets hope crystal meth stays out of the country.

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    Mute gary power
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:49 PM

    My guess is meth will explode in Ireland over the next couple of years

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    Mute Paulie K
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:16 PM

    meth is here already.

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    Mute Francis Cussen
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:46 PM

    I blame breaking bad;)

    22
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    Mute Stuart Lakes
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    Jul 13th 2012, 10:32 PM

    crystal meth is already available on oconnel street in dublin. and just like the heroin epidemic which the country failed to contain so it will be with the meth. either our garda siochan are completely blind to the activities of dealing on the streets or they just dont give a rats. maybe a trip to spec savers might help the situation.

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    Mute Rónán O'Suilleabháin
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:47 PM

    “Quinlivan says that the only way to put an end to the problem is by taking on the gangs who deal the drugs”

    Genius. With such a revolutionary stratagem, we’ll have drugs off the streets by Christmas

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    Mute Paddy Fagan
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    Jul 13th 2012, 7:53 PM

    To be fair it’s good he’s highlighting the problem in limerick. But if he thinks that tackling the dealers is going stop the problem he’s blind.

    Limerick prison in 2001 hadn’t much heroin, roll on 4 years later and the problem was massive. Which In turn is effecting the city and surrounding towns since.

    I’ve said on this site before Ireland needs to get on to what sweden, Portugal and Switzerland are doing. People are going to take drugs what we need to do is have the best program’s and facilities in place to help does most at risk.

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    Mute Seán Ó Briain
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:51 PM

    Same with Waterford – city is plagued in heroin. Every street corner has a zombie creeping about. Sometimes I wonder if I’m in Waterford or a new episode for The Walking Dead.

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    Mute Katie Does
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:16 PM

    Heroin problem in is getting worse. Returns true for all inserted locations.

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    Mute Katie Does
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:18 PM

    Oh, it stripped my tags and made nonsense of that!

    I meant:

    Heroin problem in INSERT NAME OF ANY CITY TOWN OR VILLAGE IN IRELAND is getting worse

    19
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    Mute David Ronan
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    Jul 13th 2012, 2:47 PM

    Everyone knows the dangers of certain drugs especially heroin. A 10 yr old could tell you that. Education can only do so much, common sense needs to come into play also!

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    Mute Tomy Iona
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    Jul 15th 2012, 1:24 PM

    I don’t agree that everyone knows. I didn’t until about my mid teens. That might be rare, I’ll agree there but I don’t think we should assume anything.

    As for education, and as with most areas of education, the validity of what is being told is the problem. Education could actually do a LOT more by avoiding misinformation. This idea that 1 use equals death/addiction/major problem is absolute rubbish. When people see their peers not dying they think it’s ok. The wrong message is out there.

    If you take heroin alone, there are issues of dirty needles that are massively frightening. This story is triggered by the horror of the young girl having to have her health monitored for fear of HIV now.

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    Mute Kenneth Bambrick
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    Jul 13th 2012, 4:13 PM

    how bout just shoot the gear heads. that sounds like a plan.
    ever notice its not the gear heads fault he/she is a junkie. its every one else’s. there kids in care robbing our houses but its not there fault they have a disease. cancer that’s a disease smoking a tray cos yeah having a care in the world is no disease. shoot them.

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    Mute Abby
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    Jul 14th 2012, 2:06 AM

    That’s disgusting.

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    Mute Pierce2020
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:16 PM

    I don’t think this will be popular, but what about giving away heroin, with a doctors prescription. I know this will not stop people taking the drug but it might cut the legs from under the dealers. I might be cheaper to provide them the drug instead of the costs involved in locking people up. Then you could spend the difference on actual treatment, free up the Garda as well.

    I know it’s been tried before but I thought I would suggest it again.

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    Mute Too Trueleft
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    Jul 13th 2012, 3:36 PM

    Or you could use this:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibogaine#Treatment_for_opioid_addiction

    They’re currently working on a non hallucinogenic version of it. Unfortunately, it may never see the light of day, after all theres no money for the drugs companies in curing the problem.

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    Mute Ross McNulty
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    Jul 13th 2012, 11:04 PM

    Study done by Canadian researchers has shown this to be the case, Google it loads of info on the web.

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    Mute Gary Madden
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    Jul 13th 2012, 5:56 PM

    I think Nun’s Island is Galway City. Limerick has King’s Island.

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    Mute Tony Stanley
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    Jul 13th 2012, 5:37 PM

    Drugs are baaad, don’t do drugs….m-Kay!

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    Mute john pyne
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    Jul 13th 2012, 5:13 PM

    say what u like but u can’t bate a yolk every once in a while…#TIMBERJAW

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    Mute Lynda Foley
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    Jul 13th 2012, 10:51 PM

    More awareness about the actual reality of drugs , more treatment centres , more guards to enforce tougher laws an judges who will actually follow through on sentences an it might be reduced but it’s not likely st this stage , there’s 24000 registered addicts in ireland at the moe an that’s just registered ! I run a women’s rehab home and once they get on heroin it’s extremely hard to get of it (but not impossible). They don’t plan to become addicts

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    Mute Peter fitzsimons
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    Jul 13th 2012, 4:52 PM

    Give them a ‘green prescription’.

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    Mute Gabe Brolly
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    Jul 13th 2012, 6:32 PM

    I say take off and nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure

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    Mute Marcus O Toole
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    Jul 13th 2012, 9:03 PM

    they mostly come out at night, mostly

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