Alan Shatter
Question:401 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of cases that have to date come before the District Court's Drugs Court; and the number of such cases determined to date. [13963/01]
Written Answers - Drug Courts.
The pilot drug court programme was launched in the Dublin District Court on 9 January 2001 and the first sitting took place on 16 January. The court sits on Tuesday and Thursday at 3 p.m. at the Richmond Courthouse and each sitting is preceded by a meeting of the Drugs Court team and the judge. As the pilot drug court will run for one year no case has been fully determined in that the treatment plans which are assigned to participants under the programme remain under review by the Drugs Court team. I understand that, as of 11 May, 21 persons have been referred to the Drugs Court for assessment from the Dublin District Courts. Three persons have been returned to the ordinary courts as they were considered unsuitable for the treatment programme. Seven persons have been assigned treatment plans and the remaining persons are at various stages of assessment.