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THERE IS A “tsunami” of crack cocaine addiction in the Tallaght and Whitechurch areas of Dublin, with women making up one-third of those seeking help for the drug, according to a new report.
The report by Tallaght’s Drugs and Alcohol Task Force has said that the number of people being treated for addiction issues by task force projects has doubled in the last ten years.
Despite this, the report’s authors say they believe they are only reaching 25% of the true need due to an increase in the need for addiction services.
The report says its services are being spread even thinner over the past decade due to an overall decrease in funding from €1.3 million in 2010 to €1.2 million today.
It is caling for calling for an additional €1 million in government funding to take on more frontline staff to address the crack issue, create more residential addiction, develop more direct interventions for vulnerable young people and to fund more gardai on the ground.
It says that an increase in garda patrols is required due to what it estimates as a 75% increase in drug related crime since 2018, including the intimidation of women by dealers.
Tallaght has the “joint lowest number of gardai per head of population in Dublin”, according to the report’s authors.
The report also details what it terms as the “onset of crack cocaine in the last three years” which has left its services “at breaking point”.
“Crack cocaine causes chaos and destruction in the life of the person trapped in addiction and hugely affects their children, their wider family and community. A growing number of women have become trapped in a life of addiction and intimidation and find it very difficult to escape the cycle of trauma and addiction without our help,” TDATF co-ordinator Grace Hill has said.
The report found that, in 2021, the number of people using TDATF services because of crack cocaine addiction was among the highest in the country and about about one third of those were women.
The report details that addiction to crack cocaine is complex and difficult to overcome, with many people using more than one drug at a time meaning additional support is required.
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No phone boxes either…
Post boxes to go next – as internet communications/e-commerce/e-mails increase, and take over.
Then post offices for the same reasons.
Son there’ll be nothing left to pee into.
Finally, the post office will disappear (with benefits paid into bank accounts) when postal deliveries cease, for good.
Where we live they already use disposable nappies and throw them in the ditches……
Post will benefit from the continued increase in online shopping. Going nowhere.
The majority of my internet purchases come by courier.
It was the number one spot outside Trinity.
Doddle is dealing with deliveries in London. 300 stores will be open at train stations across the UK. Argos is also in bed with eBay
True. I always wonder why eircom (eir) don’t just convert the phone boxes into worked hubs with boosted range and provide WiFi throughout the country. I know it might not be lightening fast but it would be something. I was in Limerick recently and noted that there is city wide free Wi-Fi. A few cities on mainland Europe do the same.
@Ger Comings: “The majority of my internet purchases come by courier”. The majority of Heroin and Cocaine comes by gurrier.
If you ever wonder what they were like just think about the toilet in the bookies in Trainspotting..
In a thousand years time this will probably be looked upon as a great archaeological discovery of how the Irish pissed in the twentieth century…..academics will probably write books on the subject or whatever they will use then to document these things.
It was a shit hole anyway
Think the fact we even had public toilets that could be considered historic is the real story here.
Yes liam. They were British toilets built by Armitage Shanks of Staffordshire – and, I suppose, they had to be gotten rid of, like Nelson’s Column.
There’s a story that one day some Japanese tourists stopped by Pat Ingoldsby selling books outside the Bank of Ireland and asked for directions to St Stephen’s green. He apparently pointed across the road to the toilets and told them to head down to the subway, take one stop and they’d be there.
A couple of old underground victorian style public toilets in london have been turned into cool little bars and restaurants.
Unfortunately our planning authorities are failing the city yet again
Yes Emma – there’s a fine/largish one on Shepherd’s Bush Green, which does extremely well. Because its near the massive Westfield Shopping Cente, which is the biggest in the UK.
We’ll just have to struggle on.
In fairness, these toilets were rather tiny from what I remember and would never have been viable as bars or restaurants.
Westfield is actually the third biggest in the UK Ger, the MetroCentre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, is the biggest, followed by the Trafford Centre in Manchester.
Biggest – in terms of business, not square footage, which is not cost effective. In other words, the most profitable and busiest. Sorry for confusing you, pope.
Which pope is the wiki freak…p1, the kraut?
JR, in fairness? In fact, some were huge – with several staff.
Not even a nice try, you stated ‘biggest’ – not ‘most profitable’, sorry to piss on your parade Mr. Shortcomings :)
Biggest, as in business. Pope wiki…
Wrong again, you claimed ‘biggest’ period, Google ‘biggest’ and physical size will be the only results returned, learn how to communicate before digging an ever bigger hole for yourself and your overly sensitive ego.
These toilets were used during the 1916 Rising by the martyrs. This is an OUTRAGE!
I’m organising a march starting on Parnell St (outside party headquarters) on Saturday at 10am.
Will try pop down also. I have hoped for most of my years to see these public restrooms restored and put to use.
These will be as much of an improvement to the cityscape as the corpo flats. Our history is slowly being erased..
If you’re being serious, why did you wait until now? This was all planned ages ago.
Ah, Dublin City Council. From the people who brought you fines for pissing in the street, on foot of the closure of public conveniences in the 1990′s. What other civilised Capital City in Europe is without public toilets? I am not well travelled, but have been to Paris, Rome, Lisbon and Berlin – facilities which recognize human physiology are available in all these places. I cannot speak to their availability elsewhere.
I’m surprised it wasn’t objected to by people claiming a 1916 leader had a S***e in one during the rising
George Michael petitioning Dublin city council to preserve the toilets
Who she?
Sad that we had to lose the loos for the luas.
I cant understand why the existing structure couldn’t be used for a control box?
For the control of what exactly, Brian?
“Plans are now in place for a control box to be fitted at the site which will allow operate the College Street and Westmoreland Street Luas stops when they are completed.”
I would assume its that?
Remember that these particular jacksies have not been used (or abused!) for 20 years. Whatever alternative arrangements were to be made were made long ago!
Whatever the plan for the site is, It’s not available to view on the DCC planning search. I wonder Why?
Ah now! Demolished and not a protester in sight! I honestly thought that this action would surely merit a dirty protest!
Good riddance
remember the graffiti -Welcome to the Pleasure Dome. But seriously where are people meant to go for a pee in the city centre?
Against the spire…
It hasn’t been in use for 20 years. Didn’t bother you then
I think you have a point.
Put’s a new meaning to “taking the piss”
Luas drivers now going down the crapper. What next???
agh sh*te!
Pretty disgraceful treatment of the city’s Victorian heritage.
This is a real bummer.
The only sh*te you will see there in the future will be driving a tram. Ding ding.
If those walls could only talk. Shot no, we don’t want to go down that shady lane
Shur we’ll puss up the nearest alleyway it’ll be grand, we’re irish what else would you expect?
The Loos have made way for the Luas.
That’s some old shite..
“Public toilets over 100 years old are demolished to clear way for Luas”. I think this article is a load of sh*te. I’m pis*ed off!.
No shit!
have your say