Wexford council urged to create specialist housing model for those with addiction issues

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The plight of those struggling to piece their lives back together having overcome addiction issues has been raised by independent councillor John O’Rourke at the monthly meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD).

Recognising the unique challenges faced by people who are reintegrating themselves back into society while living with addiction, Cllr O’Rourke has proposed that Wexford County Council (WCC) launch a new housing model.

“Could we do an audit in our district to see what lands or vacant buildings are owned by the HSE or other government departments?” he asked. “We could do this with a view to launching a housing model for people who have overcome addiction issues, those who have fallen on hard times, in a similar model to Loreto Village, or Joseph Street in Wexford.”

In March of this year, Cllr O’Rourke reiterated calls for a drug rehabilitation centre to be set up in Enniscorthy and noted that, despite repeated efforts, the EMD had yet to receive a response to its queries from Health Minister Jennifer Carroll Mac Neill.

“We contacted the health minister six months ago asking that a plan be put together for a drug rehab centre in Enniscorthy, there are vacant buildings here which are owned by the HSE and they could be used for a residential care unit,” he said at the time.

Continuing on this theme, Cllr O’Rourke said housing people with addiction issues was a sensitive matter and every effort had to be made to ensure they did not fall back into old habits.

Noting that WCC has a drugs officer within its remit who works in tandem with the Cornmarket Project, Cllr O’Rourke said the council’s housing department needed to “deploy the services” of this officer in these instances.

“In the event someone has attended the Cornmarket Project for rehabilitation, and they’re in the process of being allocated a property by WCC, could we deploy the services of a drugs officer in County Hall alongside our housing team?” he asked. “There’s no point offering them accommodation in an area where there’s a pub beside the house or a bookie nearby, these factors need to be taken into consideration. “

In response, housing officer Roseanne Redmond said she would discuss these matters with her senior executive officer and return with an update for Cllr O’Rourke.