Jack Wall
Ceist:445 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the position regarding initiatives by his Department to prevent drug misuse by children and teenagers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19850/01]
Written Answers. - Drugs Misuse.
The new National Drugs Strategy, 2001-08, which was launched on 10 May, brings all elements of drugs policy in Ireland into a single framework with responsibilities clearly assigned. Under each of the four pillars – supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research – a series of objectives and key performance indicators have been set with specific targets that Departments and agencies are required to meet. A series of 100 individual actions have also been developed which the relevant bodies have to carry out to deliver the strategy and meet its objectives. A copy of the strategy is available in the Oireachtas Library.
In relation to prevention, the strategy sets an overall objective of creating greater societal awareness about the dangers and prevalence of drug misuse and equipping young people and other vulnerable groups with the skills and supports necessary to make informed choices about their health, personal and social development. A number of actions are contained in the strategy for the Department of Education and Science, which are aimed at educating young people about drugs related issues. They include having a comprehensive substance misuse prevention programmes in all schools and, as a first step, implementing the Walk Tall and On My Own Two Feet programmes in all schools in the Local Drugs Task Force areas during the academic year 2001-02 and delivering the SPHE programme, social, personal and health education, in all second level schools nationwide by September 2003. In addition, it is intended to have a national awareness campaign, highlighting the dangers of drugs, developed especially by the health promotion unit.
My Department also chairs the national assessment committee on the young people's facilities and services fund. The committee makes recommendations, which are approved by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion, which assists in the development of preventative measures, in a targeted manner, through the development of youth facilities, including sport and recreational facilities, and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem existed or has the potential to develop. The aim of the fund is to attract at risk young people in disadvantaged areas into these facilities and divert them away from the dangers of substance misuse. To date, £46 million has been allocated under the fund since it was established in 1998. The primary focus of the fund is on local drugs task force areas and selected urban areas – Galway, Limerick, South Cork City, Waterford and Carlow.