Former minister of state for national drugs strategy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said society cares for cattle more than it does heroin users.
The Labour Party TD's comments come after at least 54 people in Dublin died following heroin overdoses earlier this month.
The HSE issued a warning to drugs users advising against buying new batches of the drug after samples associated with a recent spate of heroin overdoses were identified as having been adulterated with nitrazene drugs.
The synthetic opioid has been tied to fatal overdoses in Britain over the last two years.
Mr Ó Ríordáin told Newstalk Breakfast that he did not get “any real sense” that society cared about the welfare of people who use heroin.
“I think if 54 middle class students had been struck with a mystery overdose on pills, I think we would have had more of a move towards doing something about it.
“In fact, I think if 54 cattle had been struck down with a mystery illness, I think there would have been a move from Government to care more.
“It just feels, whenever we’re dealing with those who are heroin users that the sense is that it’s their fault; we don’t like the way that they speak, the way that they talk, the way that they look, we don’t like the way that they dress.”
Mr Ó Ríordáin said that during his time as minister of state he noted that the deaths of heroin users were often ignored by the media and society.
“When I was minister for drugs, there was a very high-profile case of a student who overdosed on a pill, which was a very tragic case, and I was swamped with contact from media outlets about this young person, about her future, about her lost life and her upset friends and family.
“It was a very distressing time. Simultaneously, two heroin users were dragged out of the toilets in Connolly Station dead, but there was no media interest. There was no societal interest.”
Mr Ó Ríordáin said the language around drug use can be very unfortunate, with words like “junkie” often used.
“That word is actually quite loaded, it’s quite offensive to those who have drug users in their families,” he said.
“There is any amount of offensive terminology that can be used in terms of the LGBT community, or Travellers, or migrants, or black Irish that you could never use on the radio because your political career would be ended, but you can use the word junkie all the time, as often as you like in print or in broadcast.”
