*Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF). Photograph: Eamon Ward
DISAPPOINTMENT has been voiced by a Clare councillor on the failure to develop further treatment services in the county.
On Saturday last which was International Overdose Awareness Day, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) expressed her disappointment at the lack of progress on delivering more treatment services in Co Clare.
She said, “An average of one person per day dies from an overdose in Ireland, one of the highest rates in the EU. All these deaths produce grieving families torn apart. So, we have to work to prevent them. International Overdose Awareness Day helps us to recognise the victimhood of those who are afflicted by drug addiction. We have to break down the stigma around it”.
Cllr McGettigan who will contest the General Election for Sinn Féin previously brought a motion before Clare County Council seeking a low threshold treatment facility in Clare. She stated, “I’m disappointed to say that we have had no feedback from the government on this but I will be following it up again. We also need more services to help those in recovery to deal with problems and issues in their lives which hamper their recovery”.
Clare needs better services, she insisted. “Naloxone is a drug which can stop an overdose immediately while it is happening. The victim of the overdose is given an injection similar to an EpiPen or given a nasal spray while they are suffering the overdose, and it reverses the effects of the opioids. It is completely safe and harmless, and has no effect on anyone other than an overdosing person, but it is still prescription only. That needs to change. Anyone who thinks they may come into contact with an overdosing person should be able to access Naloxone over the counter or through service providers, similar to the situation in the North”.
“We must do more to care for the victims of drug dependency. This is best for the victim themselves and for their families and communities,” she concluded.
