Vol. 475 No. 8
5 Mr. Gregory asked the Taoiseach if he will give details of the role of co-ordinator to the local drug task forces; whether the primary responsibility of this position is to work with and co-ordinate the activities of the task force or, as appears to be the case, to assist the area operations manager of the health board in implementing the board's service plan. [5930/97]
The ministerial task force report on measures to reduce the demand for drugs recommended that each local drugs task force should draw up a profile of all existing services and resources available in the area to combat the drugs problem and agree a development strategy to build on these. I am pleased to avail of this opportunity to tell the House that all 12 task forces in Dublin are now in place and operational.
The primary role of the co-ordinator is, as the Deputy suggests, to work with and co-ordinate the activities of the local drugs task force in carrying out its mandate. The Deputy will recall the ministerial task force report recommended that in respect of each local drugs task force a chairperson will be proposed by the local partnership board and a co-ordinator provided by the relevant health board. The persons acting as co-ordinators are, therefore, employees of the health board and as such the board is bound by certain requirements under the relevant employment legislation when drawing up job descriptions. It is made clear to each co-ordinator that the most important element of his or her work in the coming months will be to assist the local drugs task forces in preparing and implementing their service development plans.
I understand discussions are in progress between members of the National Drugs Strategy Team and officials of the Eastern Health Board with a view to ensuring that any issues which might arise in regard to the role and work of the co-ordinator are speedily resolved.
I am happy the Minister is clarifying this point. Does he believe there is a contradiction between the proposal of the ministerial task force, that a co-ordinator be provided to the task force, and the job description of co-ordinators, which specifically states that the role of successful applicants will be to assist the area operations manager of the health board in implementing its service plan and, as an afterthought it states, that it will also be part of their job to liaise closely with the local task force. We all want the task forces to be a success and I welcome the fact that they are up and running, but they require the full time services of the co-ordinator. Will the Minister agree that while the health board employs the co-ordinator, for the first couple of years at least the co-ordinator should be seconded full time to the local task force?
There may seem to be a conflict in this area — I have only today seen the job description prepared by the Eastern Health Board — but in reality that is not the case. When the recommendation to which Deputy Gregory referred was made by the ministerial group, I envisaged a person being made available on a part-time basis to perform the key role of co-ordinating the various services, which has not been done up to now. The Eastern Health Board has advertised for an entirely new range of personnel under the title of co-ordinator. Those people will be permanent staff of the Eastern Health Board. The board advised me that the job description referred to by Deputy Gregory is no more than an admission that the people involved will be long-term employees of the board. It is clear that the primary role of the co-ordinator in the months ahead — we do not know how long this position will continue, whether it will be a year, two years or five years, or perhaps the problem will never be combated — will be to service the task force and report to the chairman of the local task force.
I am grateful to the Minister for clarifying the matter. However, does he accept the co-ordinator will be employed under the terms of the job description, which does not state the primary role is to work with the task force? It states that the co-ordinator may only attend meetings with community and voluntary groups that have been approved——
This should not lead to argument or debate. The Deputy should ask a brief relevant question.
The co-ordinator may attend meetings with community——
The Deputy is giving rather than seeking information.
Is the Minister of State aware that the job description specifically states that the co-ordinator may only attend meetings with voluntary and community groups that have been approved by the area operations manager of the health board? Surely the co-ordinator should be responsible to the task force, not to the area operations manager of the health board.
The Deputy will note that the job description also states:
...to assist with the setting up of the task forces on drug misuse, to facilitate and co-ordinate meetings in relation to task force work, to liaise with local agencies and community groups to ascertain the extent and nature of the drug problem in the task force area, to facilitate the preparation of the development plan, building on existing or planned services in the area, to gather and disseminate information on existing services in the task force area.
It also states that the local area co-ordinator will be answerable to the chairperson of the local drugs task force in the co-ordination of the task force's work. This is a step further than what was envisaged by the ministerial group which published the task force report. Effectively, a person will be appointed in a full time capacity by the key agency involved until the task force is up and running. While the Garda, the probation service and the housing authority are important in this regard, the key agency is the health board.
Is the Minister of State satisfied that the person involved will work on a full-time basis for the task force and not be directed on a day to day basis by the health board? If the co-ordinator is directed by the health board he or she may not be able to work with the community. The health board may direct the co-ordinator to do other types of work.
The day to day direction of the co-ordinator is crucial and is probably the reason Deputy Gregory tabled this question. For whatever reason, people in the areas most afflicted with the drugs problem are suspicious of a number of agencies, but I will not go into the background of that. This structure was designed to allow local communities participate in a solution to the drugs problem and the alienation that exists should be replaced by co-operation and partnership. I accept that some people would be concerned if the co-ordinator was directed by the health board.
Within one year of taking office the Minister for Health appointed a programme manager to drive the fight against drugs in the Eastern Health Board area. Therefore, it is neither possible nor desirable to separate the work of local drug task forces from that of the health board. A local task force could not take responsibility for policing matters. The gardaí should heed what the task force says, but they have their job to do. For the first time ever, a programme manager is employed at a senior level in the Eastern Health Board whose only, but major, task is to drive the fight against the drugs scourge in Dublin.
Deputy Ahern knows as much as I do about labour legislation. I am sure he will accept that, as the employer of the people involved, the Eastern Health Board is required to set a job description for them. I am satisfied it will not cut across the work of the task force. A national drugs strategy team has been set up on practically a full-time basis and we are seeking offices for it outside Government Buildings or a Department of State. If problems arise it will try to resolve them.
Does the Minister of State accept I am seeking clarity on this matter? Will he clarify with the health board that the primary role of the co-ordinator will be to work on a full-time basis with the local task force?
Deputy Gregory has been trying to resolve the drugs problem for longer than most Members. I am sure he is seeking nothing other than clarity on the matter and I hope I have given him that. I have already informed the health board on the matters to which he referred.
