{"id":26918,"date":"2025-04-30T23:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T23:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=26918"},"modified":"2025-05-01T04:24:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T04:24:04","slug":"belfast-public-needle-bin-not-a-silver-bullet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=26918","title":{"rendered":"Belfast public needle bin &#8216;not a silver bullet&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-801dd632-0 eSlECZ\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-1 eeJXtz\">5 hours ago<\/p>\n<p><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-2 sc-42d8a745-5 sc-42d8a745-6 bHDbVj ffpPdD htCKMu\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-0 jNAQSQ\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-1 cwJkjb\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-2 sc-42d8a745-5 sc-42d8a745-6 bcpeIB fxnHdQ fYsCgf\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-0 jNAQSQ\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-1 cwJkjb\">Save<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-801dd632-12 jSIeFi\">\n<div class=\"sc-801dd632-5 kRoBHa\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-801dd632-7 lasLGY\">Conor Neeson<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>BBC News NI<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-2 sc-42d8a745-5 sc-42d8a745-6 bHDbVj ffpPdD htCKMu\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-0 jNAQSQ\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-1 cwJkjb\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-2 sc-42d8a745-5 sc-42d8a745-6 bcpeIB fxnHdQ fYsCgf\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-0 jNAQSQ\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-42d8a745-1 cwJkjb\">Save<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gyQxwn\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-1 eOgpjw\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/8f818120-25db-11f0-9221-535ec4a96945.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"BBC Brian Smyth has short, combed over red hair and a red and grey beard. He is standing next to the gates of a car park and is wearing a dark denim jacket and a black t shirt with a multicoloured pattern.\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe\" \/><span class=\"sc-4abb68ca-2 kkAKIJ\">BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A proposed trial to install a waste needle bin in Belfast city centre is not a &#8220;silver bullet&#8221; but one step to dealing with drugs issues in the city, a councillor has said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Brian Smyth was speaking ahead of a Belfast City Council vote on Thursday on whether or not to install the bin in the council-owned car park on Little Donegall Street.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Councillors chose the car park over a site on Corporation Square at the People and Communities Committee last month. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Green Party representative Smyth said the council was lifting between 600 and 700 needles a month in the city centre, with other organisations also involved in the collection of needles. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 hoQmHM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-1 eOgpjw\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 itgEAh hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1ba69460-25dc-11f0-9221-535ec4a96945.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The sign for Little Donegal Street car park. The wall behind is red and is covered in graffiti. There are tall spiked metal gates surrounding the car park.\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A council report stated there had been an increase in needle finds in recent months and it had been &#8220;highlighted as being in the top six locations&#8221; for discarded needles. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The proposed metal needle bin will be concreted to the ground and will provide a secure way of disposing of sharps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Smyth had previously tabled motions for similar bins to be placed in Writer&#8217;s Square, however this is not council land. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">He said the Department for Communities (DfC) had turned down this call. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;They are worried about image but I would say if needles continue to be found in the area of high significance, then that&#8217;s going to provide an image problem,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">A DfC spokesperson said it recognised that drug abuse and associated anti-social behaviour in the city centre was a major issue and was working closely with other organisations, including the council, to tackle the problems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"sc-737179d2-0 erjHHi\">Needles found in rubbish <\/h2>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Smyth said members of the council&#8217;s cleansing team had found needles disposed in regular rubbish bins. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;This poses a risk not only to them but also to members of the public,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Whilst this is a very small response, I think we need to get our heads around the bigger issue of rising drug use in and around Belfast city centre and how we tackle it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">In March 2023, Belfast City councillors <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-northern-ireland-64815965\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 bGFWdi\">passed a motion in favour of setting up a safe injecting facility<\/a> to help prevent overdoses among drug users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The council has no legal power to open a facility and a change in legislation would be required for this to happen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The aim would be to reduce overdoses and drug-related harm as well as making drug use less visible to the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Smyth said such a facility could make the area safe for &#8220;people who live, work and socialise in the city centre&#8221;. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 hoQmHM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-1 eOgpjw\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 itgEAh hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ba444ff0-25db-11f0-9221-535ec4a96945.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A man with grey longish hair and a beard wears a navy jumper, with The People&#039;s Kitchen, Belfast on the lapel. \" class=\"sc-4abb68ca-0 ldLcJe\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Damian McNairney, a volunteer and trustee from The People&#8217;s Kitchen in Belfast, said the bin would help but described Belfast city centre as being in a drug crisis. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">The kitchen offers support to vulnerable and homeless people. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;We need to be more adventurous, we need to be more compassionate in our approach to the issue,&#8221; said Mr McNairney. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;Addicts are being demonised, we need to look and see if we can help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;If we solve the problem at source, i.e. the addiction, then we are going to be able to deal with the drug paraphernalia and the other issues allied to that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dEGcKf\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Mr McNairney said there were other areas with &#8220;more prominent use&#8221; but getting needles off the street was always a positive. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;There are needles around the town anyway. By not putting the bins up they&#8217;re not going to go away,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">Mr McNairney said he had visited a safe injection site which opened in Dublin in 2024 and he was in favour of a similar facility in Belfast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">&#8220;It seems to be very encouraging in terms of people using it, there&#8217;s drug paraphernalia that has been taken off the streets, it&#8217;s being safely disposed of and people with addictions are being signposted to other services,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 hxuGS\">In March, <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cjd3jkv433vo\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 bGFWdi\">Justice Minister Naomi Long told BBC News NI that the &#8220;war on drugs had not been won&#8221;<\/a> and there needed to be a rethink of how illegal drugs were dealt with in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 hours agoShareSaveConor NeesonBBC News NIShareSaveBBCA proposed trial to install a waste needle bin in Belfast city centre is not a &#8220;silver bullet&#8221; but one step to dealing with drugs issues in the city, a councillor has said.Brian Smyth was speaking ahead of a Belfast City Council vote on Thursday on whether or not to install the bin in the council-owned car park on Little Donegall Street.Councillors chose the car park over a site on Corporation Square at the People and Communities Committee last month. Green Party representative Smyth said the council was lifting between 600 and 700 needles a month in the city centre, with other organisations also involved in the collection of needles. A council report stated there had been an increase in needle finds in recent months and it had been &#8220;highlighted as being in the top six locations&#8221; for discarded needles. The proposed metal needle bin will be concreted to the ground and will provide a secure way of disposing of sharps.Smyth had previously tabled motions for similar bins to be placed in Writer&#8217;s Square, however this is not council land. He said the Department for Communities (DfC) had turned down this call. &#8220;They are worried about image but I would say if needles continue to be found in the area of high significance, then that&#8217;s going to provide an image problem,&#8221; he said.A DfC spokesperson said it recognised that drug abuse and associated anti-social behaviour in the city centre was a major issue and was working closely with other organisations, including the council, to tackle the problems.Needles found in rubbish Smyth said members of the council&#8217;s cleansing team had found needles disposed in regular rubbish bins. &#8220;This poses a risk not only to them but also to members of the public,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Whilst this is a very small response, I think we need to get our heads around the bigger issue of rising drug use in and around Belfast city centre and how we tackle it.&#8221;In March 2023, Belfast City councillors passed a motion in favour of setting up a safe injecting facility to help prevent overdoses among drug users.The council has no legal power to open a facility and a change in legislation would be required for this to happen.The aim would be to reduce overdoses and drug-related harm as well as making drug use less visible to the community.Smyth said such a facility could make the area safe for &#8220;people who live, work and socialise in the city centre&#8221;. Damian McNairney, a volunteer and trustee from The People&#8217;s Kitchen in Belfast, said the bin would help but described Belfast city centre as being in a drug crisis. The kitchen offers support to vulnerable and homeless people. &#8220;We need to be more adventurous, we need to be more compassionate in our approach to the issue,&#8221; said Mr McNairney. &#8220;Addicts are being demonised, we need to look and see if we can help.&#8221;If we solve the problem at source, i.e. the addiction, then we are going to be able to deal with the drug paraphernalia and the other issues allied to that.&#8221;Mr McNairney said there were other areas with &#8220;more prominent use&#8221; but getting needles off the street was always a positive. &#8220;There are needles around the town anyway. By not putting the bins up they&#8217;re not going to go away,&#8221; he said.Mr McNairney said he had visited a safe injection site which opened in Dublin in 2024 and he was in favour of a similar facility in Belfast.&#8221;It seems to be very encouraging in terms of people using it, there&#8217;s drug paraphernalia that has been taken off the streets, it&#8217;s being safely disposed of and people with addictions are being signposted to other services,&#8221; he said. In March, Justice Minister Naomi Long told BBC News NI that the &#8220;war on drugs had not been won&#8221; and there needed to be a rethink of how illegal drugs were dealt with in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26264,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26918"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26924,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26918\/revisions\/26924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}