In the last three years the number of people on methadone has increased, according to figures released by the Minister for Health James Reilly.

Answering a parliamentary question on how many people the HSE provides opioid substitution, mainly methadone, to drug users, Reilly said there were 9,615 patients receiving opioid substitution treatment as at the end of January 2014 according to the National Drug Treatment Centre Central Treatment List......