Vol. 479 No. 1
23 Mr. D. Ahern asked the Minister for Health the current position regarding a proposal by the North-Eastern Health Board to provide a rapid response team to the drug problem and the problem of young people at risk in the greater Dundalk area, County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12345/97]
Limerick East): Following Government decisions of 20 February 1996 on measures to reduce the demand for drugs, the North-Eastern Health Board published a detailed service plan in April 1996 aimed at combating the drug problem in the north-eastern area. Included in this plan was the proposal for the establishment of rapid response teams.
During 1996 my Department allocated £100,000 to the board to allow it to implement its service plan to address drug misuse. This sum allowed for the establishment of a rapid response team and for the recruitment of five additional staff. This team works mainly in the Drogheda-South Meath area. The staff have been deployed to these areas because a significant drug misuse problem has been identified there. The activities of the team are being monitored and evaluated by the health board before other teams are established.
In the meantime, a further £60,000 has been allocated to the board in 1997 for continued expansion of its drugs services. In addition to this, on foot of the First Ministerial Task Force Report on Measures to Reduce the Demand for Drugs, an amount of £1 million is being made available to health boards outside Dublin for the further development of services. Health boards will be notified shortly of their individual allocations from this.
