Vol. 504 No. 3
11 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the position regarding the delays in drawing down funding for approved projects in the local task force areas; if all 1997 and 1998 funding has been drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11768/99]
The Government in 1997 allocated £10 million to support the implementation of more than 200 separate initiatives in action plans prepared by the 13 local drugs task forces. These task forces were set up in Dublin and north Cork city to develop an integrated response to the drug problem, particularly the heroin problem, in their areas; and to involve local communities in the planning, design and implementation of that response.
The funding is held in the Vote of my Department and is transferred on request, as projects become operational, to other Departments and agencies which are acting as channels of funding to the approved projects.
Approximately £7.4 million has been drawn down by these Departments and agencies, to date, and around 91 per cent of the projects are currently in receipt of funding. Funding in respect of outstanding projects still not fully operational is being held in the Vote of my Department, for payment in instalments to the projects as required. An important feature of the initiative is the engagement of local communities in the design and planning of strategies to respond to the drug problem in their areas and in the implementation of the approved projects. In the majority of cases, this has been undertaken by voluntary and community groups in partnership with relevant statutory agencies and assisted by the local drugs task forces. It is hoped that this approach will assist the viability and sustainability of these projects and facilitate their future "mainstreaming". However, a vital prerequisite to achieving this is the need to develop the capacity of community and voluntary organisations to deliver locally based drug programmes and services.
In the task force areas where strong community structures were already in place prior to the setting up of the initiative, the emphasis in the action plans was on developing and expanding those structures. Accordingly, in such areas, it was possible to get the majority of approved projects up and running relatively quickly. It is notable that these areas either had a long tradition of community involvement in responding to the drug problem or had a local partnership company which had established a strong community network in the area. Conversely, in the areas where community networks were less developed, the emphasis in the plans was on building up these structures and, as a result, it has taken longer to get projects in these areas off the ground.
The four principal features which have impacted on the speed at which projects are being established are: the fact that they are designed to address gaps in current service provision means that, in many instances, they have to be designed and planned from scratch; in many instances, appropriate management structures have had to be put in place as a prerequisite to ensuring that the projects will work effectively, meet their objectives and are sustainable with a view to their future "mainstreaming"; the lack of suitable premises from which programmes and services could be run and, in a number of instances, local opposition to such services due to a misunderstanding as to their purpose, which is to provide back-up and support to the care and after care services being provided by the health board; andthe shortage of appropriately trained personnel to deliver drug programmes and services and the potential competition which this can cause between projects.
The local drugs task forces, the Departments and agencies acting as channels of funding and the national drugs strategy team all play an important role in ensuring the effective implementation and monitoring of the approved projects.
The task forces assist in the planning and design of the projects and submit regular reports to the national drugs strategy team on progress in their implementation.
I assure the Deputy that every effort is being made to ensure that the £10 million provided by the Government to support these initiatives is fully spent. Strategy team members and the statutory representatives on the local task forces are currently making every effort to assist in overcoming problems or difficulties inhibiting the start up of projects being funded through their Departments or agencies.
The last time this matter was discussed in the House the Minister of State indicated that there were local problems in setting up some of the projects. Has progress been made with the schemes which were experiencing difficulties?
In general there has been progress. I brought the concerns expressed by the Deputies when this matter was last discussed to the attention of the national drugs strategy team. Additional support has been given to local promoting groups through the local drugs task forces to assist them and to clear what might loosely be described as bureaucratic delays which might have found their way into the process of drawing down funding. A total of 91 per cent of the projects are now drawing down the funding.
A few individual projects have not yet commenced to draw down funding for different reasons. This might be due to the lack of qualified local staff in the local area. Premises remain a difficulty in that suitable premises are not available to the local promoting group in some areas. The fact that 91 per cent of the approved projects are drawing down funding indicates that soon all projects will be drawing it down.
The Minister of State indicated that 91 per cent of projects are drawing down funding. What percentage of the funding has been drawn down?
Approximately £7.4 million has been drawn down by the various Departments for onward transmission to the local groups.
What is the total funding?
Ten million pounds.
How many people are benefiting from these programmes at present and how many are waiting for programmes to be set up?
Over 800 individuals are acting in a voluntary capacity across the 30 local drugs task force areas. They are supporting and working in those areas. We are straying into a Department of Health and Children area but I can quote a figure which I referred to previously. Over 3,000 individuals are currently availing of the treatment services in the Eastern Health Board area. The most recent information available from that health board indicates that approximately 600 people are still waiting to access treatment services. The Eastern Health Board has established 40 such treatment centres with the support of the local drugs task forces. There are proposals for up to nine additional centres to be provided this year.
The Minister of State did not reply to my question about projects which were experiencing planning difficulties and problems due to local objections. Have these projects progressed since we last discussed them?
Some of them have progressed but a number continue to be held up due to the planning process. People are, of course, entitled to make their views known during the planning process. I will arrange to provide the two Deputies who raised this matter with an update on the projects which are still held up due to the planning process.
