Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 May 2004
45 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Health and Children the measures his Department intends to take to deal with the sharp increase in the number of children seeking treatment for drug addiction, according to research (details supplied) undertaken by the Health Research Board; if his Department will set up and fund specialist adolescent addiction services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11919/04]
View answerResponsibility for the provision of drug treatment services rests with the health boards/authority in the first instance. I have been advised by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA, that the three area health boards within the eastern region provide detoxification and rehabilitation services on both an in-patient and out-patient basis. Under 18 year olds are prioritised for these services.
I am also advised that the three area health boards utilise in-patient rehabilitation services outside the eastern region. The Aislinn Centre, Ballyragget, County Kilkenny, provides drug free residential treatment for male and female adolescents, 15-21 year olds, who are dependent on alcohol and drugs. The Matt Talbot Adolescent Services, a drug free residential facility for the treatment of alcohol and drug misuse in young males between 14 and 18 years old in the Southern Health Board, is also in operation.
The development of a protocol for the treatment of under 18 year olds presenting with serious drug problems is one of the actions set out in the national drugs strategy 2001-2008. The ERHA established a working group, chaired by an official from my Department and comprising a broad range of statutory and non-statutory service providers and community representatives, in October 2001. Its report is now being finalised and is due for discussion at the June meeting of the interdepartmental group on drugs, chaired by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern.
To fulfil its remit, the group undertook a number of initiatives, including an examination of the legal issues surrounding treatment, a review of relevant literature, an analysis of trends in drug misuse by children and adolescents, a review of services and service gaps nationally, the establishment of focus of service users within and outside the ERHA region and a review of the treatment issues raised by its deliberations. I understand that the group agreed that treatment services for child and adolescent problem drug misusers should be based on a four-tiered approach.
The four tiers may be interpreted as follows. Tier 1 will comprise services which have contact with young people but which do not have specialist expertise in either adolescents or addiction, such as teachers, social services, police, GPs, community and family groups. Tier 2 will comprise services which have specialist expertise in either adolescents or addiction but not both, such as juvenile liaison officers, local drug task forces, home school liaison, Youthreach and drug treatment centres. Tier 3 will comprise services which have specialist expertise in both adolescents and addiction, that is, multi-disciplinary teams comprising people with a speciality in adolescent addiction. Tier 4 will comprise services which have specialist expertise in both adolescents and addiction and the capacity to deliver brief but intensive treatment, for example, in-patient or day hospital.
The services which exist fall mainly into tiers 1, 2 or 4, so the greatest need in terms of developing this model of service delivery is in tier 3. Furthermore, it is clear that addressing the needs of under 18 year olds will require additional resources to be directed at this client group. In anticipation of the group's findings, my Department has this year allocated funding of €500,000 to the ERHA to fund the development of tier 3 teams covering the ERHA region on a pilot basis. I am confident that the development of the tiered approach being recommended by the group will allow for improved services for children and adolescents with serious drug problems.
