Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 11 Jul 1990

Vol. 401 No. 5

Written Answers. - Drug Services Plan.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

31 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions on which the National Co-ordinating Committee on Drugs has met since its re-establishment in October 1988; and if he is making any other parallel preparations for a national strategic plan for drug services.

Minister for Health (Dr. O'Hanlon)

The Deputy will be aware that I reconstituted the National Co-ordinating Committee on Drug Abuse in May of this year under the chairmanship of Deputy Noel Treacy, Minister of State at my Department.

The reconstituted committee is comprised of senior officials of the Departments of Health, Justice, Education, Tourism and Transport, Foreign Affairs, the Revenue Commissioners, the Garda Síochána and the health boards.

I have asked the committee to give the utmost priority to the development of a national plan to combat drug abuse and drug trafficking and I expect to be in a position to put such a draft plan before Government before the end of this year.

The first meeting of the full reconstituted committee took place on 18 May and a decision was taken that the committee's immediate work could best be undertaken by the formation of a number of subcommittees each charged with the completion of particular tasks within a specified timescale. These subcommittees are meeting regularly and will report on progress to a plenary meeting of the group before the end of July.