Limerick City treatment centre to officially open new centre

THIS Friday, Saoirse, the Limerick-based addiction treatment organisation will mark two significant milestones with the official opening of the new centre bought for them by JP McManus and the launch of a pilot treatment programme for people who are addicted to gambling and gaming, catering for clients as young as fourteen. 

The new centre was bought for the service by the JP McManus Pro-Am fund at a cost of nearly half a million euro and means that Saoirse can now begin expanding the services it offers.

A non-residential, free, treatment service for people addicted to alcohol, drugs and gambling in the Mid-West, Saoirse will now be one of a number of nationally HSE approved pilot schemes for the treatment of people addicted to gaming.

Since two volunteers went out to buy a van load of chairs from a company that was closing in 2012, Saoise has offered treatment programmes to almost 3,500 addicts in that time. 

Last year alone, the service had 380 clients, 187 crisis interventions and 66 short term interventions for people - that's 633 individual clients.

Tim Evans, service administrator said: "Demand is always very strong for all of our services. We know there is a very big need for the new pilot programme to help those addicted to on-line gaming and we are now setting up that service and opening it to the public.”

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Speaking about the move to the new building in Clare Street, Mr Evans said that Saoirse is "so very grateful to the JP McManus Pro Am fund. This makes a world of difference in terms of our future planning and in terms of the therapeutic environment we can offer.

"Saoirse couldn't survive without the support we have had since we started from the HSE, Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP), Limerick City and County Council and now the JP McManus fund. And not forgetting the Redemptorists, EI in Shannon and all of the hundreds of individuals and local organisations that have fund-raised for us.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the Drugs Strategy, Colm Burke, will perform the official opening of the new centre at Old Clare Street at 2.30pm on Friday, June 21.