Plans for Ireland's first supervised drug-injecting centre have hit a stumbling block after Dublin City Council decided it needs planning permission.

The centre is to allow addicts to inject illegal drugs purchased elsewhere under the supervision of a health professional.

The HSE had hoped to bypass the usual planning process, as the centre was set to be run as a pilot project for 18 months.

However the Times Ireland Edition reports that the Dublin Business Alliance has objected to the location of the centre and queried whether it needed planning permission.