A Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF) is a clean, safe, healthcare environment where people can inject drugs, obtained elsewhere, under the supervision of trained health professionals. A MSIF offers a compassionate, person-centred service which reduces the harms associated with injecting drugs. A MSIF 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.

Location

Ireland’s first MSIF opened in December 2024, and is situated at Merchant’s Quay Ireland, 13-14 Merchant’s Quay, The Liberties, Dublin. The Pilot Programme will last for a period of 18 months and will be located from the MQI Riverbank Centre location, where primary health care and harm reduction services are already provided.

Opening hours

The opening times of the service are 54 hours a week, from Monday to Sunday. The MSIF will open seven days a week, and the hours will be 8.30am to 12.30pm and 3.00pm to 7.00pm, Monday to Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, it will be open from 12.00pm to 7.00pm.

MQI is actively working with schools, communities and businesses in the local area and meeting regularly through various groups to ensure that minimum disruption is caused, balanced with the need to provide an effective service for clients of the MSIF.

Aims

A MSIF aims to:

• Reduce drug-related overdose deaths;
• Reduce the risks of disease transmission, also known as blood-borne viruses, through sharing of injecting equipment;
• Reduce public injecting and drug related litter locally and therefore reduce public health risks such as needle-stick injuries; and
• Connect the most vulnerable and marginalised people who use drugs with treatment services and other health and social services.

Legislation

On 15 December 2015 the Government approved the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015 to allow for supervised injecting facilities and commenced the process of enacting this Bill into legislation. The Bill passed through the Seanad on 10 May 2017. The licence to run the MSIF is granted under the Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) Act 2017, which is available at irishstatuebook.ie.

Services

When a person accesses the service, they can expect the following:

• An assessment and intake area, with a waiting room, in a safe environment;
• A clinical area comprising of seven injecting booths where sterile injecting equipment is distributed and supervised injecting can occur in a safe space;
• An ‘aftercare’ area where people can relax and be monitored for about 30 minutes post-injecting, and where they can have access to project workers; and
• Access to medical care, crisis and counselling interventions (if requested), and where referrals to social services/housing/treatment can occur.

The facility is open to any person who injects drugs and is free of charge. Additional health supports are available in the Riverbank Facility and include:

• A drop-in service;
• Extended day services which offer meals, crisis support, information, advice and assistance to people who are homeless and rough sleepers;
• A primary healthcare facility with a GP, nursing, mental health and dental services, in addition to chiropody and counselling; and
• A Health Promotion Unit, which provides people who use drugs with information about the risks associated with drug use and the means to minimise such risks.

“A MSIF 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.”  

Contact details

MQI’s Community Engagement Team can be reached on 086 174 1404, or via email at communications@mqi.ie. HSE specific queries regarding the service can be directed towards the National Social Inclusion Office at socialinclusion@hse.ie.