Written Answers. - National Drugs Strategy.
Derek McDowell
Question:
17
Mr. McDowell
asked the
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation
the progress to date in implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the national advisory committee on drugs, Drug Use Prevention: An Overview of Research; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8041/02]
David Stanton
Question:
541
Mr. Stanton
asked the
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation
the membership and qualifications of the national advisory committee on drugs; the number of times the committee has met to date; the actions he plans to take on foot of receipt of the most recent report; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8275/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 and 541 together.
The national advisory committee on drugs, NAC, was established in July 2000 and, to date, has met on 16 occasions. The membership reflects the different perspectives in the field of drug misuse and has been drawn from the statutory, community, voluntary, academic and research sectors, together with senior level representation from the relevant Departments. Full details of the membership are included in the appendix, which I propose to have circulated in the Official Report.
The main findings of the first report of the national advisory committee on drugs, entitled, Drug Use Prevention: An Overview of Research, which was published in early December 2001, was that there is no single drug problem with one dramatic solution. Rather, what is called the drug problem is comprised of varying degrees of involvement with a variety of substances arising from several influences, many of which are unrelated to each other. The committee's report calls for both targeted and broadly-based programmes to tackle this situation.
The report recommends that these programmes should focus both on the most damaging forms of misuse, for which social and economic deprivation is seen as a pre-disposing factor, and experimental drug use which is not uncommon to young people from all social backgrounds. In addition, the report recognises the importance of programmes that emphasise personal and social development and welcomes developments in the social, personal and health education programme, SPHE, in schools.
Many of the recommendations in the report are in line with those in the National Drugs Strategy, 2001-2008, which I launched in May of last year. In this context, it is worth noting that the SPHE programme is being increasingly delivered throughout the second level school system and the strategy aims to have the programme in all such schools by September 2003, with schools in local drugs task force areas being prioritised.
In addition, the Deputy may be aware that one of the key actions in the national drugs strategy is that an ongoing national awareness campaign highlighting the dangers of drug misuse be developed. The health promotion unit of the Department of Health and Children formed a working group in 2001 to develop this campaign and its work is well under way. It is studying the NACD report closely and will be taking on board its recommendations. It is planned to launch the first phase of the campaign by mid-2002.
The NACD report also recommends that targeted initiatives to tackle the social origins of drugs problems should be comprehensive and involve inter-agency co-operation and the community. As the Deputy will be aware, inter-agency co-operation has been an integral part of initiatives in Ireland aimed at tackling the drugs problem in recent years. In addition, the community and voluntary sectors play an important role, not only in interventions to deal with problem drug use such as the local drugs task forces, but also in the work of area partnerships and the RAPID programme. In addition, the regional drugs task forces, which will be in place later in the year, will also have representation from the community and voluntary sectors as well as all the relevant statutory bodies.
Appendix – Membership of National Advisory Committee on Drugs.
Dr. Des Corrigan, Chairperson.
Dr. Corrigan is director of the school of pharmacy, TCD. He qualified as a pharmacist from UCD in 1965. He has a PhD in pharmacy and was elected a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland in 1989. He has been involved in the drugs area since 1968 when he and other colleagues provided an analytical service for the newly formed drug squad. Since 1980 he has been involved in prevention activities working with teachers, parent groups and health care professionals dealing with factual information on the effects of drugs. Since 1995 he has been the Irish representative on and acted from 1998 to 2001 as chairperson of the scientific committee of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, EMCDDA, based in Lisbon. He chaired the risk assessment committee for new synthetic drugs set up by the EU. Dr. Corrigan also chaired the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local drugs task force from 1997 to 2000. He is the author of Facts About Drug Abuse In Ireland, published by the health promotion unit of the Department of Health and Children. He has also published scientific studies on ecstasy and other synthetic drugs in Addiction Biology and the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.
Dr. Louis O'Carroll Eastern Regional Health Authority.
Dr. O'Carroll graduated in medicine in UCD in 1978. He spent a number of years in Canada working in the area of family and community medicine. In 1985 he returned to Ireland and undertook specialist training in psychiatry and became a member of the Royal Society of Psychiatrists in 1988. He now works for the ERHA and is attached to St. Ita's Hospital as a consultant psychiatrist with clinical responsibility for the Coolock, Darndale and Priorswood community sectors. He also holds the post of senior tutor in the department of psychology in UCD.
Detective Superintendent Finbarr O'Brien, Garda National Drug Unit.
Detective Superintendent O'Brien is a member of the national drugs strategy team and is the liaison officer for the canal communities local drugs task force. He is based in the Garda national drugs unit and has had responsibility for the demand/reduction area of illegal drugs for more than a year. He has been deputy head of the Garda national drugs unit since August 1999. As a national nominee to the Europol drug group he has been involved in the development of the Euro pol Drugs Strategy, 2000 to 2004. Detective Superintendent O'Brien holds a BA in public administration and an MBA international executive programme.
Dr. Shane Butler, Trinity College Dublin.
Dr. Butler is a senior lecturer at the department of social studies, Trinity College Dublin. He worked previously as a social researcher and as a social worker for the former Eastern Health Board. Since joining Trinity College he has specialised in teaching and research in the field of drug and alcohol problems. He is co-ordinator of the MSc in drug and alcohol policy and is academic co-director of the addiction research centre at Trinity College, Dublin.
Dr. Joe Barry, Eastern Regional Health Authority.
Dr. Barry, MSc, MD, FRCPI, FFPHM, is a specialist in public health medicine in the public health department in the ERHA and is a senior lecturer in public health in the department of community health and general practice, Trinity College Dublin. He is medical advisor to the national drugs strategy team and is the dean of the faculty of public health medicine at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Dr. Barry has extensive experience of problem drug use in Ireland and has published articles in a number of national and international journals on drugs, blood-borne viruses and prisoners' health.
Mr. Jimmy Connolly, Irish Association of Alcohol and Addiction Counsellors (IAAAC).
Mr. Connolly represents the IAAAC, the accrediting body for addiction counsellors in Ireland. Mr. Connolly works as an addiction counsellor in the Midland Health Board. He has worked in the addiction field in education, prevention and treatment areas for many years in the Midland Health Board region. Mr. Connolly is qualified as a registered psychiatric nurse, he holds a masters and higher diploma in education, a diploma in addiction and a diploma in management. He was one of the founding members of the IAAAC and has written several articles on the subject of addiction over the years.
Mr. Willie Collins, Regional Health Boards.
Mr. Collins, MSc rehabilitation, Dip E W CCDC is co-ordinator of services for alcohol and substance misuse in the Southern Health Board region. Mr Collins is a qualified addiction counsellor. In 1989 he was appointed as director of the Aiséirí alcohol and drug treatment centre in Wexford. He established a private consultancy service in 1992 and has been instrumental in the development of a number of addiction treatment facilities throughout the country.
Dr. Derval Howley.
Dr. Derval Howley is a research officer for social inclusion with the Eastern Regional Health Authority and a member of the national drugs strategy team. Previously she has worked as the acting service planner for social inclusion, ERHA, research/outreach with Simon in Dublin, house manager with the EHB/Focus Ireland working with adults who were out of home and had learning disabilities, and in the general learning disability field. She has a degree in social science from UCD since 1995 and received her PhD in philosophy in 2000 for sociological research into street begging in Dublin city. She is an assistant examiner for the department of sociology in UCD.
Ms Kathleen Stack, Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation.
Ms Stack is a principal officer in the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation and heads the drugs strategy and local development unit. The unit is responsible for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy, 2001 to 2008, and for the overall management of the local development programme which is being funded through the national development plan. A graduate of UCD, she has worked in a number of Departments and has experience in dealing with a range of policy issues such as long-term unemployment, poverty and social exclusion.
Ms Anna Quigley, Co-ordinator, Citywide.
Ms Quigley has been co-ordinator of Dublin Citywide drugs crisis campaign since 1997. Ms Quigley has nearly 20 years' experience of working in the community sector in Dublin. Citywide supports and facilitates local communities in developing their own responses to the drugs problem and provides a network for a whole range of community groups and organisations. Ms Quigley has been involved in a range of initiatives, which aim to increase community involvement at all levels in relation to the drugs issue. She is a board member of Dublin Aids Alliance and a member of the Franciscan justice strategy team.
Dr. Mary Ellen McCann, Voluntary Sector Representative.
Dr. McCann is a college lecturer in the social policy-drugs field in UCD. She is on a leave of absence from her position as director of the Ballymun youth action project, a community response to drugs where she has worked since 1984. She holds a diploma in education, a diploma in adult and community education, an M Phil and a PhD. Dr. McCann trained in addiction counselling in the Rutland Centre and later worked for two years in the Coolmine Therapeutic Community. Dr. McCann has been active in the development of voluntary and community sector drugs/alcohol services and was a founding member of the voluntary drug treatment network. Dr. McCann has been to the fore in design of the accredited community addiction studies course and established a community addiction studies training centre, URRUS, the first of its kind in the country.
Dr. Mark Morgan, St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra.
Dr. Morgan is a lecturer in psychology and a researcher at St. Patrick's College of Education, Drumcondra, Dublin. Dr. Morgan holds a primary degree in psychology, a masters, MSc, and PhD in social psychology from the London School of Economics. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship in substance abuse prevention through Stanford University, California. He has collaborated with several colleagues in Europe and the US on studying prevalence of substance and prevention programmes. Dr. Morgan is the author of the ESPAD study, 1995 and 1999, and the evaluator of several substance abuse programmes, including On My Own Two Feet and Walk Tall. Dr. Morgan has also been an evaluator for the local drugs task forces.
Mr. Gary Broderick, Voluntary Sector Representative.
Mr. Broderick is project director of the Anna Liffey drugs project and represents the voluntary drugs treatment forum. Based in the north inner city he has worked as an addiction counsellor in Ballymun and in the south inner city (Merchants Quay Project).
Dr. Eamon Keenan, ERHA.
Dr. Keenan is a consultant psychiatrist specialising in the treatment of substance misuse. His current attachments are with the South-Western Area Health Board, Trinity Court and St. James's Hospital. He was appointed to this post in 1996 and has extensive experience of working in the area of substance misuse in Ireland. Dr. Keenan has published several articles in many prominent specialist journals and has a special interest in the areas of drug use in pregnancy, hepatitis C and ecstasy use. He is on the board of directors of Trinity Court drug treatment centre and is a member of the Irish psychiatric training committee (eastern region).
Mrs. Mary Jackson, Department of Health and Children.
Ms Jackson is assistant principal officer in the community health section of the Department of Health and Children. Her duties extend to the development of policy, including legislation and services for drug misuse and HIV/AIDS. This work involves close co-operation with a range of other departments and agencies addressing social inclusion. She is a member of the national drugs strategy team, the methadone implementation committee, the benzodiazepine committee and the national AIDS strategy committee. Ms Jackson has also represented the Department of Health and Children on the board of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe. She holds a BA in public management.
Liam O'Brien, Community Sector Representative.
Liam O'Brien is the co-ordinator of CARP, Killinarden, which treats opiate users in a part of Tallaght for the past seven years. It is a community-based response to drug treatment and one of 50 such clinics in the Dublin region. He has been involved in various community led responses to anti-social problems in the west Tallaght area since coming there as a school chaplain in 1990. He serves on the board of the Tallaght homeless advice unit, the Tallaght community workshop and the life project in Ballyfermot. He facilitates an addiction studies course in the local institute of technology which is now in its sixth year. He has been a community representative on the local drugs task force since its inception. He has a primary degree in science, a higher diploma in education and for his sins he was a secondary level teacher for 16 years. He has a masters in moral and religious science from Louvain, Belgium, and an MSc in drugs and alcohol policy from Trinity College Dublin. He lives locally in Killinarden.
Dr. Hamish Sinclair, Health Research Board.
Dr. Sinclair is head of the drug misuse research division of the Health Research Board. He holds a primary degree in physiology, a MSc in community health and a PhD in health services research. Prior to joining the Health Research Board he was a lecturer in the department of the community health and general practice, Trinity College Dublin. Dr. Sinclair has published extensively in a number of national and international journals. His specialist interests are in the areas of economic evaluation, research methodology, health inequalities and health services research.
Mr. William Byrne, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
Mr. Byrne is a principal officer in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. He was recently appointed to the NACD.
Mr. David Moloney, Department of Health and Children.
Mr. Moloney is the principal officer in the community health unit of the Department of Health and Children. He was recently appointed to the NACD.
Ms Máirín O'Sullivan, Department of Education and Science.
Ms O'Sullivan was recently appointed to the NACD. Further details are not currently available.
