Vol. 478 No. 7
78 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health the amount, if any, spent by his Department on research into drug abuse by 16 to 25 year olds; if so, the findings of such research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12188/97]
Limerick East): Following the Government decisions of February 1996 on measures to reduce the demand for drugs which included a number of key measures in regard to data collection, the Department requested that each health board put in place initiatives to ensure that it is fully informed of the level of abuse in its area and of any new emerging trends. Additional funding has been provided to each board to implement these decisions and a proportion of each allocation is being used towards research.
Funding is also provided to the Health Research Board which produces an annual report on treated drug misuse. This report includes data related to persons who present for treatment for drug misuse. The board has commissioned a study to be carried out in 1997 on the prevalence of hard drug misuse in Dublin.
All health boards, in co-operation with the Health Research Board, are now setting up databases on drug misuse in each area which will improve the quality of data available on drug misuse, provide comparable data on misuse and a more complete picture of the incidence of such misuse. This will allow for a more co-ordinated response to the drug misuse problem.
It is difficult to be precise about the total amount of money being spent on research by the health boards as in many cases this research is funded from their ongoing allocations. However, the North-Eastern Board has indicated that it has allocated £25,000 for research into drug abuse among 16 to 25 year olds. The research is still in progress and will not be completed until September 1997. The Southern Health Board also commissioned a drug and alcohol use survey in 1995 at a cost of £56,000. The main sample totalled 1,500 in the 15-44 age group from the general population. This was followed up by a booster sample totalling 600 from the 15-24 year old age group residing in the most deprived urban areas of the health board. The results of the survey are currently being analysed and it is hoped to formally present them in mid-June 1997.
The Eastern Health Board, as part of its ongoing restructuring programme, has been conducting research and is compiling databases of clients attending each new drug treatment project.The board has plans this year to fund a research post which will be based in Trinity Court, Pearse Street, to carry out evaluations of various treatment options.
The Health Promotion Unit of my Department was involved in research during 1995 when Ireland participated in a European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) which was conducted among a random sample of 16 year olds, averaging about 2,000 students in each country, under the aegis of the Swedish National Council for Information of alcohol and other drugs and the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe.
