Seán Ryan
Question:81 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the steps, if any, he will take to ensure that all moneys allocated to fighting illegal drug abuse will be spent. [3449/99]
Written Answers - National Drugs Strategy.
The Government allocated £10 million to support the implementation of nearly 230 separate initiatives in action plans prepared by the local drugs task force which were set up to develop and implement an integrated response to the drugs problem in their areas and involve local communities in the planning, design and implementation of that response.
Funding for this initiative is held in the Vote of my Department and is transferred, on request as projects become operational, to other Departments and agencies, which are acting as channels of funding to the approved projects. Approximately £5.6 million has been drawn down by these Departments and agencies to date and around 80 per cent of the projects are drawing down funding.
An important feature of the initiative is the engagement of local communities in the design and planning of strategies to respond to the drugs problem in their areas and in the implementation of approved projects. In the majority of cases, this has been undertaken by voluntary and community groups, in partnership with relevant statutory agencies and assisted by the local drugs task forces. It is hoped that this approach will assist the viability and sustainability of these projects and facilitate their future mainstreaming. However, a vital prerequisite to achieving this is the need to develop the capacity of community and voluntary organisations to deliver locally-based drug programmes and services.
In the task force areas where strong community structures were in place prior to the setting up of the initiative, the emphasis in the action plan was on developing and expanding those structures. Accordingly, in such areas, it was possible to get the majority of approved projects up and running relatively quickly. It is notable that these areas either had a long tradition of community involvement in responding to the drugs problem or had a local partnership company which had established a strong community network in the area. Conversely, in the areas where community networks were less developed, the emphasis in the plans was on building up these structures and, as a result, it has taken longer to get projects off the ground.
The four principal features which have impacted on the speed at which projects are being established are the fact that they are designed to address gaps in current service provisions, which means that, in many instances, they have had to be designed and planned from scratch; in many instances, appropriate local management structures have had to be put in place as a prerequisite to ensuring the projects will work effectively, meet their objectives and are sustainable with a view to their future mainstreaming; the lack of suitable infrastructure or premises from which programmes and services could be run and, in a number of instances, local opposition to such services, due to a misunderstanding as to their pur pose, which is to provide backup and support to the care and after-care services being provided by the health board; and the shortage of appropriately trained personnel to deliver drug programmes and services and the potential competition this can cause between projects.
The local drugs task forces, the Department and agencies acting as channels of funding and the national drug strategy team all play an important role in ensuring the effective implementation and monitoring of the approved projects. The task forces assist in the planning and design of the projects and submit regular reports to the national drug strategy team on progress in their implementation. The team members and the statutory representatives on the task forces are making every effort to assist the projects in overcoming problems or difficulties inhibiting the start-up of projects being funded through their Departments or agencies.