By ANN MURPHY
TWO Cork City Council staff have had to have hospital treatment after being injured by drugs needles in the city.
One of the workers had his forefinger pierced by a needle while he was working on Lower John Street.
The second man was sent for treatment after coming into contact with a needle in the Lady’s Well area of Blackpool.
Both men have also been tested for blood-borne diseases and been given the all-clear of any infection. In both cases, the needles could have been found by members of the public.
The incidents in recent months mark the first time city council workers have been injured by drugs-related paraphernalia in the course of their work.
In June, a new campaign was introduced in the city by the Cork Local Drug and Alcohol Taskforce to educate businesses, community groups and schools about what to do if they found drug paraphernalia in their area.
Information including phone numbers has now been supplied to the targeted groups.
The campaign was launched alongside the new drug and alcohol strategy for Cork city for 2015 to 2017.
The launch came as traders on North Main Street highlighted concerns about heroin needles being found in the area – including in shop changing rooms. Last year, a five-year-old boy was jabbed in the hand by a discarded heroin needle in the North Presentation School playground.
Recent figures show there are about 500 regular heroin users in Cork City, mostly men in their twenties and thirties, but only half are thought to be dealing with the HSE services and receiving methadone treatment.
Twenty-five people were charged with heroin dealing in Cork under a garda operation, called Emerson, in June.