National Drugs Strategy.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2004

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Questions (264)

Seán Crowe

Question:

282 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of clients that are receiving methadone treatment, the yearly cost of such treatments; and if he will report on the average waiting time for heroin addicts seeking help in the various Dublin health board areas. [16575/04]

Written answers

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Responsibility for the provision of drug treatment services rests with the health boards in the first instance. Since 1997, additional funding of €52 million has been provided to health boards to fund a wide range of drug treatment services. Those services include methadone maintenance, methadone detoxification, education, outreach services, rehabilitation and counselling.

I am advised by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, or ERHA, that, as of 30 April 2004, 6,611 clients were in receipt of methadone treatment in the Eastern Region, shown in Table 1. That represents 95.5% of clients in treatment nationally.

Table 1: Number of clients by provider agency as of

30 April 2004
Eastern Regional Health Authority
East Coast Area Health Board	713
Northern Area Health Board	2,419
South Western Health Board	2,642
Drug Treatment Centre Board	495
Prison Services in ERHA	342
Total	6,611

I am also advised that, as of 30 April 2004, there were 319 clients awaiting methadone treatment, and the average waiting time for clients on the list was 5.5 months, shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Number of clients on waiting list by provider agency as of 30 April 2004

Service Provider	Number waiting
East Coast Area Health Board	7
Northern Area Health Board	49
South Western Health Board	178
Drug Treatment Centre Board	85
Total	319

Question No. 283 answered with QuestionNo. 268.