Care versus Crime: Safe Drug Injection Sites as a Legal Crossroads in Ireland

O'Sullivan, Sarah Bryan and Gatto, Marcus (2021). Care versus Crime: Safe Drug Injection Sites as a Legal Crossroads in Ireland. In: Lynch, Orla; Windle, James and Ahmed, Yasmine eds. Giving Voice to Diversity in Criminological Research: ‘Nothing about Us without Us’. Bristol University Press, pp. 185–208.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/policypress/9781529215526.003.0010

Abstract

This paper serves to examine the history of Irish drug policy, specifically in terms of persons who inject drugs (PID). The first section survey of Irish drug policy over a number of decades to reveal a gradual acceptance of a public health approach towards PIDs, as opposed to the strict and exclusive operation of the criminal law in this area. While, at the macro level, political commitment to a public heath approach is important, individual communities equally must commit to these strategies. One example of this, which the present paper explores, is the objections to the Merchants Quay safe injecting facility (SIF) and the difficulties encountered in obtaining planning permission; the contentious issue of planning permission for a SIF in Merchants Quay reveals deep-seated anxieties on the part of local communities concerning the placement of these facilities. Ethical considerations are also examined to frame the political debate regarding the facility, as a tension between strong paternalism and the autonomy of PIDs. In conclusion, the authors consider that SIFs adequately balance the need for the control of drugs in the interests of the community with the human rights of vulnerable PIDs.

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