The Ana Liffey Drug Project (ALDP) is a ‘low-threshold, harm reduction’ project working with people who are actively using drugs and experiencing associated problems. ALDP has been offering harm reduction services to people in the north inner-city area of Dublin since 1982, from premises at Middle Abbey Street. ALDP offers a wide variety of low-threshold, harm reduction services that offer pathways for drug users out of their current circumstance, including addiction and homelessness. 

The services offered in Dublin are:

• Open access
• Assertive outreach
• Needle and syringe programme
• Medical services
• Stabilisation group
• Detox group
• Harm reduction group
• Treatment options group
• Assessment for residential treatment
• Key working and case management
• Prison in-reach.

Nursing services

In Dublin, nursing services are provided on a drop-in basis. Services offered include blood-borne virus testing, wound care, and compression bandaging. ALDP also provides an in-reach nursing service to the residents of Crosscare Cedar House every Tuesday from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm. In addition to providing nursing services on a daily basis, ALDP works in partnership with Safetynet Primary Care to provide a GP clinic every Friday between 11.30 am and 1.30 pm. 

Mid-West region

The ALDP Mid-West region provides harm reduction services in Limerick city and three counties to people affected by problem substance use, their families, and the wider community. The counties served are Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary. The ALDP Online and Digital Services team also offers support and information to the general public and to drug users, as well as to other agencies that work with problem drug users. 

Annual report

The ALDP annual report was published in 2019.1 It noted that Dublin open access services provided help to 982 individuals in 2018, the majority of whom were homeless and many were polydrug users with mental and physical health problems; 151 individuals received key working and case management; 437 people attended treatment groups; and 538 individuals used the needle and syringe programme. ALDP also provided in-reach services to Mountjoy Prison, where 54 individuals attended groups run in this setting. 

In the Mid-West, ALDP served a similar cohort of people: 281 people were registered with the service in 2018. Of these, 75 individuals accessed case management services and 129 people accessed the ALDP needle and syringe programme. 

September 2018 saw the winding down of the Online and Digital Services team at ALDP. The team managed the Drugs.ie website, which had 1,754,779 visits from its inception to September 2018. During this period, the team also received 809 calls through the Live Helper chat service.

1. Ana Liffey Drug Project (2019) Ana Liffey Drug Project annual report 2018. Dublin: Ana Liffey Drug Project. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/31432/