Pat Rabbitte
Question:90 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress made to date in implementing the new national drugs strategy launched in May 2001. [17762/03]
Written Answers. - National Drugs Strategy.
John Gormley
Question:101 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the way in which the national drugs strategy has lessened drug use. [17720/03]
Paul Kehoe
Question:126 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he intends to review the national drugs strategy with a view to including policy on alcohol as part of the remit of local and regional drugs task forces. [217855/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 90, 101 and 126 together.
As the Deputies are aware, my Department has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-08. The strategy contains 100 individual actions, under the four pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research – to be implemented by a range of Departments and agencies.
Since it was launched in May 2001, Departments and agencies have made considerable progress in implementing the actions set out for them in the strategy. The interdepartmental group on drugs, which I chair, meets regularly in conjunction with the national drugs strategy team, to assess progress being made in achieving the targets set out in the strategy. Any obstacles to the implementation of any of the actions are brought to light at these meetings.
As regards measuring the impact of the strategy on the level of drug use, it is planned to conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of the overall framework by end 2004. This will examine the progress being made in achieving the overall key strategic goals set out in the strategy and will enable priorities for further action to be identified and a re-focusing of the strategy, if necessary. A necessary element for any evaluation will be availability of baseline data in relation to overall prevalence. In this regard, it is worth noting that the National Advisory Committee on Drugs is currently carrying out a general population survey on drug misuse in Ireland. The results of the survey are due out later this year and this will provide the best overall indicator of the level of drug use in the country. This is the first such population survey to be undertaken and the results will provide a very valuable baseline against which to measure progress in the future.
The Deputies should also note that the NACD recently published a study on the prevalence of opiate misuse in Ireland. This is the first formal estimate undertaken since the previous 1996 study which used the same methodology. However, the 1996 study, which arrived at an estimate of 13,461, estimated prevalence for Dublin only. The latest study estimates that there were 14,452 people using opiates in Ireland in 2001, while the estimated figure for Dublin is 12,456. I am sure that the Deputies will agree that the drop in prevalence figures in Dublin is encouraging – as is the finding that the numbers of users in the 15-24 year old bracket has reduced substantially which may point to a lower rate of initiation into heroin misuse.
Six monthly progress reports on the strategy are provided to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and it is intended to submit a further progress report on the strategy to the committee next month. In this regard, I can tell the Deputies that approximately one third of the 100 actions have already been completed or are on-going tasks for the life of the strategy. With the exception of a few actions where work has yet to commence, work is in progress on the remainder.
In particular, it should be noted that the Customs and Excise have relaunched its customs drug watch programme and a public awareness programme is in place promoting this initiative. In addition, detection dogs are now in place at all major entry points to the State and the Prison Service is recruiting additional staff to implement the report on prison-based drug treatment services, including prison nurse officers, psychologists and nurse managers. Training for prison officers is ongoing and new drug-free areas have been opened in Wheatfield and the Dochas Centre in addition to the one in St. Patrick's. The Department of Education and Science implemented substance misuse prevention programmes in all schools in the LDTF areas during the academic year 2001-02 and is on course to deliver the social personal and health programme in all primary and secondary schools by September 2003. This work is being supported by the SPHE support service, which has recruited additional trainers and support officers; significant progress is also being made as regards increasing the number of methadone treatment places. The number of places at the end of April 2003, the latest date for which confirmed figures are available, is 6,606. The equivalent figure at the end of 2000 was 5,032. The first phase of a national awareness campaign was launched in mid-May 2003. The campaign features television and radio advertising supported by an information brochure and website, all of which are designed to promote greater awareness and com munication about the drugs issue in Ireland; and approximately 1,120 places are now available in 54 drug related projects on the special CE programme for recovering drug misusers. FÁS is also piloting a drugs awareness training programme for CE supervisors.
My Department has responsibility for the work of the 14 LDTFs in Dublin, Cork and Bray. In total, the Government has allocated or spent over €65 million to implement approximately 500 projects contained in the two plans of the task forces since 1997.
The Deputies should also note that over €11.5 million has been allocated to projects under the premises initiative, which is designed to meet the accommodation needs of community based drugs projects, the majority of which are in LDTF areas; and over €59 million has been allocated to date to support approximately 350 facility and services projects in LDTF areas and the four other urban centres under the young people's facilities and services fund.
Finally in relation to the issue of alcohol, this is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, who is, I understand, pursuing a number of initiatives in this area. The primary function of the local and regional drugs task forces is to address the issue of illicit drug use in their areas. I do not consider it appropriate at this stage to extend the focus of their work. However, one of the actions in the strategy calls for a complimentary relationship to be developed between measures being undertaken in the national drugs strategy and those being taken in the context of a national alcohol policy. This matter will be pursued through the interdepartmental group on drugs in conjunction with the national drug strategy team and the Department of Health and Children.