Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Nov 2001

Vol. 544 No. 1

Written Answers. - National Drugs Strategy.

Ivor Callely

Question:

112 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the estimated moneys required for the national drugs strategy; the estimated amount of illegal drugs consumed here in 1990 and 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26567/01]

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation (Mr. E. Ryan)

The new national drugs strategy was launched in May last. The overall cost of implementing the various actions outlined in the strategy is not readily available as the recommendations contained in the strategy come within the area of responsibility of a number of Government Departments and State agencies. The necessary funding for individual Departments and agencies to implement these recommendations will be dealt with in the context of the annual Estimates process both this year and in future years.

With regard to the amount of illegal drugs consumed here in 1990 and 2000, the Deputy will appreciate that, given the illegal nature of the activity, there is no authoritative information available on this subject. However, according to the annual reports of the Garda Síochána the number of drugs possession offences in 1990 was 2,071 while the figure for 1999 was 7,136. The quantity of Garda seizures for selected drugs in the years 1990 and 1999 are set out in the tabular statement which I propose to ask An Ceann Comhairle to circulate with the Official Report. The figures for 2000 are not yet available.

As regards the numbers receiving methadone treatment, the central methadone treatment list was established in 1993 and the earliest complete figures that are available are for 1994. The number of places available for methadone treatment at the end of 1994 was 1,377 and the comparable figure for end 2000 was 5,032. In this context, the Deputy should note that there is a commitment under the national drugs strategy to having 6,000 methadone treatment places by end 2001 and 6,500 by end 2002.

The following is the tabular statement:

Garda Drugs Seizure Statistics (selected drugs)

Type of drug	1990Quantity	1999Quantity
Cannabis	2.99 kg	66.048 kg
Cannabis Plants	167	352
Cannabis resin	114.76 kg	2,511.296 kg
Cocaine	1,008.60 g	85.554 kg
Heroin	578.24 g	16.957 kg
LSD	90 Units	577 sq4 tabs
EcstasyMDA/MDMA/MDEA	N/A	229,091 tabs46 caps236 g1 tab (MDA)
Amphetamine	264.30 g +133 tab	13.394 kg12,015 tabs
Morphine	571 tab + 1,367 ml	55 tabs

tab = tabletg = grammekg = kilogramme ml = millilitresq = square