Bernard Allen
Ceist:265 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if he will set up a drug misuse data base for the greater Cork area in view of the growing drug problem in Cork.
Written Answers. - Drug Misuse Data Base.
The Health Research Board, with funding from my Department, are implementing a national drug misuse database in line with the recommendations of the Government strategy to prevent drug misuse. The data collection commenced in the greater Dublin area in 1990. The coverage is being extended on a phased basis and the Southern Health Board were asked to nominate a co-ordinator for the project last summer. The co-ordinator is now assisting the Health Research Board in the completion of treatment data, an important indicator of drug misuse, which will be available retrospectively from the beginning of 1992. The Dublin data base collects information from a range of indicators which include persons charged for drug offences, seizures of illicit drugs, AIDS/HIV data, drug-related hepatitis B cases and drug-related deaths. It is the intention to extend these indicators, where appropriate, to the Southern Health Board as soon as possible.