Having read the personal accounts of young people who have recovered from addiction at the Aislinn Centre, it would break the hardest of hearts to think that the lack of funding might jeopardise the programmes that they provide.
Kilkenny Deputy John McGuinness launched the annual report 2008 of the Aislinn Centre where it was heard that there was a 20 per cent increase in the numbers attending the Aislinn Centre for treatment in 2008 and the numbers are increasing every day.
However, adolescent addiction is unmeasured and unaddressed, according to the centre’s director Declan Jones.
He told a gathering of invited guests at the launch of the Aislinn Centre’s annual report that the rate of adolescent addiction to drugs, alcohol and gambling has never been quantified in this country and no coherent steps have ever been put in place to stop the problem spiralling out of control.
“The Government must acknowledge that the rate of adolescents addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling is increasing but we only have anecdotal figures to indicate how high these levels are. Without national figures we simply cannot put the adequate resources in place to solve this problem. It is estimated that alcohol is responsible for 1,500 deaths each year in Ireland. In 2004 it was found that Irish schoolchildren demonstrate the highest rate of drunkenness in Europe, but without knowing the exact figures there is no way of knowing the extent of treatment to be made available.”
Deputy John McGuinness welcomed the report and he also welcomed the residents of the programme users who were also present for the launch.
“I think that the people of Aislinn are the people who need to be supported as we try and refocus and see what is needed in society at this time. The HSE has largely failed this society and we as politicians have failed. We need to support you and we’ll do it . We need to say it in one voice and prove the point in monetary terms.. Aislinn is poorly funded in the context of what’s needed. We need to go out on limb and support organisations that are dealing with young people and give them hope and comfort,” he said.
The Aislinn Centre is the only drug-free residential centre in the State providing residential treatment for young people who are dependent on alcohol and/or drugs aged between 15 and 21. The Centre provides a 42-day residential programme supported by a two-year after care programme which consists of two-hour weekly meetings.
Mr Jones said, “At Aislinn we are finding ourselves in a situation where we have had to increase our bed nights from 3,650 in 2008 to 4,380 in 2009 to cope with the increase in demand for treatment of young people addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling. This alone indicates that the problem is increasing and the numbers of addicts is on the rise. Until we know the scale of the problem there is no way of knowing if we are providing sufficient resources to treat adolescents.”
In 2008 Aislinn provided treatment for 120 adolescents. Since opening in 1998, the Centre has treated 1,141 young people.
