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Safer injecting facilities (SIFs) have been introduced in many countries throughout Europe over a number of years, and more recently have been established in Canada and Australia. This study, which was conducted in Dublin, sought to examine the policy implications of introducing safer injecting facilities in Ireland as a logical development of harm-reduction policy. A triangulation method of data collection was adopted that comprised semi-structured interviews with sixteen drug users and structured interviews with key personnel and policy makers in the drug field including the Minister for State with responsibility for Ireland's National Drug Strategy (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008). The study revealed that the majority of drug users were injecting in public places, had a surprising level of knowledge of SIFs, and indicated a willingness to use such facilities. The findings of the study also revealed very mixed feelings among policy makers and key personnel and showed that amongst those in favour of such an innovation there was a preference for doing so with the maximum of discretion. The study concludes that it is perhaps 'a bridge too far' in the current political climate.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of Twitter by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) for the provision of constituency-related information, or in support of their constituency service work. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of 10,411 tweets sent by the 105 MSPs on Twitter during four weeks in early-2014. Findings – While there was some evidence of MSPs on Twitter acting as a promoter of local community interests and as a conduit for information on local policy issues and events, their tweets were dominated by the wider, national, political agenda and by the Scottish independence debate. Compared with their online behaviour as parliamentary candidates three years earlier, MSPs placed an even greater emphasis on the one-way broadcast of information to their followers. They were reluctant to respond to contentious local policy questions, or to enter into any visible, meaningful, political debate with their constituents. Research limitations/implications – Although the research was conducted seven months before the Scottish independence referendum on 18 September 2014, the independence debate still dominated proceedings on Twitter. It might, therefore, be appropriate to revisit MSPs’ use of Twitter at some point during a truer “peacetime” period. Originality/value – This is the first systematic content analysis of tweets sent by all MSPs on Twitter. It allows the authors to compare their actual Twitter use with that envisaged by the Scottish Parliament, as a way of MSPs communicating about their work and engaging with their constituents.

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