IRELAND’S FIRST EVER medically supervised drug injection facility (MSIF) is set to open in Dublin in December, according to the charity overseeing the service.

Homeless and addiction services charity Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) told The Journal that construction is at a “well-advanced” stage, and they facility is expected to open before Christmas.

MQI chief executive Eddie Mullins said the charity is aiming for a mid-December opening date, adding that the charity is “right up to the line in terms of the work with our builders”.

“We know from our extensive research in jurisdictions where these facilities exist that they save lives. So this will absolutely save lives,” Mullins added.

Public service

According to the HSE, supervised injection facilities are a clean, safe, healthcare environment where people can inject drugs, obtained elsewhere, under the supervision of trained health professionals.

Defined as a “compassionate, person-centred service which reduces the harms associated with injecting drug use”, the facilities can help health service staff to reach and support vulnerable and marginalised people who often do not, cannot or no longer engage with existing health services.

The MSIF has been almost a decade in the making, having first been proposed at Cabinet in 2015.

Legislation and planning for the MSIF followed, which was plagued by objections and delays, notably by a local primary school. Permission was eventually granted for construction in December 2022.

The site was initially due to open by September, but further delays have pushed the opening date back to December.

The facility, which will be operated by MQI, will initially open as an 18-month pilot located in the basement beneath MQI’s Riverbank location in Dublin city centre. The site will operate seven days a week, for roughly seven hours a day.

On their website, MQI state that while there are “concerns” to the construction of the site, particularly among the local community, they ask that objectors “work with us on this”.

“The MSIF will help save lives and get people into treatment, and it will also help to make the community a safer place for everyone,” the MQI site states.

So far this year, MQI has supported 6,900 clients via its open access day service in Riverbank, Dublin, a 29% increase on the same period last year.

Mullins explained that while the facility will not solve public drug use and addictions, the site will “demonstrate that we can take a different approach”.

“If we look at our our most recent figures, 351 people died from drug related deaths in 2021,” Mullins said.

“That’s the level of of mortality associated with drugs in any given year. We know facilities like MSIFs reduce the number of overdoses and allow people to intervene when overdoses happen in an appropriate and timely manner.

“So it will save lives, but it will also mean a reduction in the number of people who are currently on the street injecting in front of other people”. 

Merchants Quay Ireland CEO Eddie Mullins Merchants Quay Ireland Merchants Quay Ireland

Mullins added that there must be a renewed focus by politicians to tackle homelessness ahead of the upcoming election.

“We are funded significantly by the State, but it’s not enough. So we’re always appealing for support. We are underfunded, so we rely heavily on the support of the generosity of the public,” Mullins said.

“When the politicians come to your door, talk about people who are in addiction, and talk about people who are in homelessness.

“No family is far away from the chaos that addiction can cause, so be mindful of that when you’re talking to politicians, let’s not forget the most vulnerable in our society”.