Vol. 501 No. 4
159 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork, a nominee of the Cork local drugs task force, was not accepted for membership of the national task force in view of the fact his nomination was backed by the gardaí, Cork Corporation and the Southern Health Board. [6343/99]
As the Deputy will be aware, arising from a recommendation in the first report of the ministerial task force on measures to reduce the demand for drugs, a national drug strategy team was set up, as a cross-departmental team of the type envisaged in the strategic management initiative, to co-ordinate a central response to the drug problem. The report recommended that the team should comprise personnel from relevant Departments and agencies, as well as members from voluntary and community sectors, with a background in dealing with the drug problem.
On this basis, representatives from the following Departments/agencies were nominated to the team: Health: Taoiseach – responsibility for co-ordinating the National Drugs Strategy subsequently transferred to Tourism, Sport and Recreation; Justice; Education; Environment; Garda Síochána; Eastern Health Board; and FÁS.
In addition, two persons, with extensive experience in voluntary-community work in the drugs area, were appointed to the team.
The Cork drugs task force subsequently proposed to me that one of its members should be appointed to the national drugs strategy team to give a geographic balance to the team. However, as representation is based on a sectoral rather than geographic basis, in keeping with the recommendations of the ministerial task force, and as there were no current vacancies in respect of the above sectors, I informed the task force that I did not propose to appoint any further members to the team at that time.
