Many of the objections to a planned supervised injection centre in Dublin are "very much the same reasons" why the facility is needed, an expert in addiction medicine has said.
Merchants Quay's Ireland was given the go-ahead to open the facility last December, following earlier planning rejections.
A High Court challenge has been taken by a Dublin primary school over the plans.
St Audoen's National School on Cook Street has raised concerns about the impact the facility would have on children coming and going to school.
However, Dr Garrett McGovern - who specialises in addiction medicine - told Newstalk Breakfast this morning that the centre is aimed at keeping injecting off the streets.
He said: "I suppose my main feeling is in many ways the objections to the injecting centre are very much the same reasons as to why we need the injecting centre.
"I work in that area of Dublin 8, and I've done so for over 20 years: there's a huge congregation of people who use drugs in that area, there's a huge problem with homelessness, and there's a huge problem with drug-related paraphernalia strewn on the seats.
"This is an effort to improve that situation."
Dr McGovern said that there are many needle exchange units located around Dublin, and it's "very, very hard" for them not to be located near schools.
He said the main goal of the supervised centres is to take injecting off the streets and into a safe, controlled environment - as well as making sure children are not exposed to it.
He explained: "We're trying to improve the terrain down there, and the terrain it isn't good... there's no getting away from that."
Dr McGovern said evaluations of injection centres worldwide have shown "without a shadow of a doubt" have had a positive impact - including reducing the visibility of injecting on the streets.
He observed: "It's a horrendous thought that we have to do this... but this is the reality of the world we're living in. People do inject drugs."
He also said that Merchants Quay's existing facility is an "absolutely perfect" space for the planned injection centre, and that it's extremely difficult to find such an ideal location.
