Limerick East): It is not possible to provide information of the type requested by the Deputy. In the case of methadone maintenance, for instance, the cost per person would depend on the manner in which the maintenance programme was being delivered, for example, through a community drug treatment centre or through a general practitioner. The associated incidental costs as well as the dosages would vary in both of these settings and the average costs would vary accordingly.
In the case of a residential therapeutic programme the difficulty would arise in determining at what stage it would be appropriate to deem the programme successful for each individual.
In any event, I do not think it appropriate to compare costs of different treatment approaches in the manner suggested by the Deputy. Methadone maintenance works for a number of drug misusers but it is not the only approach. Equally, therapeutic communities have successful outcomes with some patients, but do not work for others. It would be more appropriate to recognise that both approaches can, with other treatment and prevention regimes, form part of an integrated approach to reducing the demand for drugs.