McDowell may expand pilot drugs court

The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell is considering a proposal to expand a pilot drugs court which has been in operation in Dublin's north inner city for almost two years.

The Courts System want the scheme to be extended for at least six more months. It also wants to widen the geographical area from where clients can be drawn. At present the court offers drug addicts from the north inner city the opportunity to undergo treatment and counselling instead of being sent to prison.

In order to be eligible for the drug court addicts must be referred by the Dublin District Court. Applicants are remanded from Chancery Street Courts to the Richmond Courthouse, where the Drug Court sits. They must also plead guilty to charges involving non-violent crime.

To date just five addicts have graduated from the course and around 35 more former drug users are still taking part in the project. It was envisaged the scheme would be extended to other parts of Dublin and then to the regions. But officials want more time to assess its effectiveness.

A spokesman for the Courts Service denied plans to roll out the court had effectively been shelved. "What we are saying is that the system has worked well, but we need more time to fine-tune it," he said.

The system has had access to fewer clients than expected and that has limited Courts Service's ability to fully assess its effectiveness, he said.