Long waits for drug abuse treatment

There is an average waiting time of over a year in some areas for methadone treatment for opiate addiction, according to a new report.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on drug treatment services states that at the end of 2007 around 8,000 people were receiving methadone treatment and in some areas there was a year-long waiting list.

The report also points out that the proportion of people receiving methadone treatment progressing to detoxification and subsequent rehabilitation is very low.

It notes that although there is a higher prevalence of misuse of all kinds of non-opiate drugs in the greater Dublin area than in the rest of the country, the rate at which users of non-opiate drugs in Dublin enter treatment is significantly lower than for the population elsewhere.

The report says that in the prison service, only Mountjoy Prison provides a comprehensive rehabilitation programme.

An estimated total of €140 million was spent in 2007 on the provision of treatment and rehab services for problem drug users, according to the report.

[Posted: Fri 05/06/2009]