The Government should consider legally prescribing heroin to users who are addicted to the drug, a leading homelessness charity says.

Simon Communities is calling on the Department of Health to broaden its current examination of the decriminalisation of drugs for personal use to include the legal supply of heroin.

The national agency said that such prescription systems are used in other countries. It specifically cited the Swiss model, which it claims has improved the health of users and cut criminal offending, drug dealing, and death rates.

Simon made the call in its submission to a department public consultation on the personal possession of illegal drugs. A high-level expert committee is examining the matter.

People caught up in the cycle of addiction are continually fined for carrying small substance amounts for personal use. Often, these multiple fines go unpaid due to socio-economic disadvantage leading to imprisonment,” said Simon.

It said this occupies police and court time, increasing the need for free legal aid and pressure on the prisons.

Simon said drug convictions create “significant barriers” to vital state services such as housing.

It is aware of local authorities which frequently refuse people housing because of active drug use and other reasons. “This practice works to disqualify the very group we should be prioritising for housing.”

It backed recommendations made by the Oireachtas justice committee in 2015 for a Portuguese-type decriminalisation model.

Simon said drug use, newly diagnosed HIV cases, and drug-related deaths have fallen in Portugal.

It supports the Government’s supervised injecting centre, but called on it to go further and consider heroin prescription.

“In examining the decriminalisation of personal possession of drugs, we encourage the department to broaden its scope to include the legalisation of the administration of certain opiates on a prescription basis.

Consideration should be given to the Swiss model of administering heroin for users, known as heroin-assisted treatment.

It said participants must be at least 18 years old; addicted for at least two years; in poor health; and have two or more failed treatment attempts.

It said evaluations show that heroin-assisted treatment significantly improves health and that it cuts criminal offending, drug dealing, death, and disease rates.

A major review of supervised injectable heroin treatment models by the European drugs agency in 2012 said there had been 15 years of trials and that they operated in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland, and Canada.

It said the improvement in the health of patients is a “consistent finding” and that there is a “major reduction” in street heroin and a “major disengagement” from crime.

It said there are good retention rates. While mortality is lower than in methadone treatment, the risk of adverse events, including death, is higher.

It said treatment costs are “well above” methadone, but when criminal behaviour is included, supervised injectable heroin saved money.

The EU body said it is considered a “second-line intervention for hard-to-reach and highly problematic heroin users” and unlikely to be a general solution.