Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2015
195. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the medicinal based alternatives available to heroin addicts seeking treatment who do not wish to avail of methadone and-or for when it is contra-indicated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26478/15]
View answer197. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in the implementation of the recommendations of the buprenorphine implementation group; the reason they have not yet been implemented, notwithstanding that they were completed and published several years ago; if he is satisfied with this level of delay; the barriers to their full implementation; the steps he has taken to address these barriers; if he is prepared to fast-track their implementation in the interests of patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26480/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 197 together.
Government policy in relation to drugs emphasises the need to provide opportunities for people to move on from illicit drug use to a drug-free life where that is achievable. However, every person with a drug problem has their own individual needs and their own personal goals for recovery.
An Expert Group, set up by my Department in 2006, examined the regulatory framework required to facilitate the prescribing, dispensing and supply of buprenorphine/naloxone and buprenorphine-only products as alternatives to methadone. In 2011, this Group concluded that methadone is the drug of first choice in the treatment of opioid dependency, but that buprenorphine/naloxone may be more appropriate for particular cohorts of clients.
The HSE established an Opioid Substitution Implementation Group in June 2013 to develop a plan for facilitating the wider availability of buprenorphine/naloxone and buprenorphine-only products as alternatives to methadone. The Group submitted a draft report to the Director General of the HSE on 4 June 2015. The Group is expected to report to the Minister of Health shortly.
