Seán Haughey
Ceist:503 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Health and Children the measures he has taken since 1997 to prevent heroin abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1324/02]
Written Answers. - Drug Treatment Services.
As the Deputy may be aware, my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Deputy Eoin Ryan, has overall responsibility to ensure that a coordinated, integrated response to the problems posed by drug misuse is in place.
In so far as my Department is concerned the objectives of the health response to the drug problem are based on two key elements, reducing the number of people turning to drug misuse in the first instance through information, education and prevention programmes and providing a range of treatment options for those addicted to drugs, the ultimate objective of which is a return to a drug free lifestyle.
My Department, through the health promotion unit, runs or is involved in a number of initiatives which are aimed at tackling and reducing the number of young people misusing substances. These initiatives include supporting drug education and prevention programmes and social and personal health education – a broad based lifeskills programme for junior certificate students in schools. A support service to implement this programme has been established through a partnership between my Department and the Department of Education and Science, in conjunction with health boards, Marino Institute and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
The substance abuse prevention programme, On My Own Two Feet, will be incorporated into the SPHE programme in the future and the Walk Tall programme will continue to be implemented in primary schools. Teachers and schools are also often supported by regional health education officers from the health boards.
Within the youth sector the national youth health programme has been developed through a partnership between my Department, the Department of Education and Science and the National Youth Council of Ireland. This programme provides training and support for a range of initiatives aimed at the youth sector nation-wide. The programmes supported include the youth work support pack for dealing with the drugs issue, Knowledge is Power and Drink Awareness for Everyone. A range of other training and support is offered to youth groups and youth work leaders to assist them to deal with the issue of drugs, alcohol and smoking as they arise in their work. Also within the youth sector a substantial number of drugs education workers have been appointed and supported.
Within the community setting Drugs Questions, Local Answers is a community-based programme offered by health boards which aims to activate local communities to assess the drug problem specific to their own area and then to look at ways in which the community can respond to the issues arising. The programme was developed by the health promotion unit of my Department and is delivered regionally by local people who have been trained in delivering the programme. Being Well is another community-based programme which has been developed by the health promotion unit. This programme encourages people to take a holistic approach to their health but also looks specifically at smoking and alcohol. Again this programme is supported by regional health boards and delivered by local people, who have been appropriately trained.
The health boards also support a range of parenting interventions such as Family, Communication and Self Esteem which is a parenting programme equipping parents to pro-actively deal with the issue of drugs that may arise within the home. Health boards also fund a number of voluntary organisations whose work involves prevention and treatment of drug misuse. Of course the Health Promotion Unit also provides a wide range of resource materials which are available free of charge among health boards.
Services for drug users in all health boards have increased substantially over the last number of years. Funding has been provided to the regional health boards to considerably strengthen the infrastructure for the delivery of drugs services. In the eastern region, treatment services have expanded from 12 locations in early 1997 to the current 57. The number of people receiving treatment has risen from 1,914 in 1997 to 5,865 at the end of December 2001. In an independent review of the drug services of the Eastern Health Board published in 2000 the authors found that, "There has been a remarkable degree of activity and expansion within the services in the EHB over the past four to five years . . . A programme of service expansion was embarked on that is probably one of the more innovative community drug service programmes in Europe".
The Deputy will also know that a new national drugs strategy which sets out a series of specific objectives and actions for dealing with this serious problem over the next seven years was published last May. The national drugs strategy recommends 100 actions. My Department will have a major responsibility in implementing a number of these and a special working group, chaired by the deputy secretary general, has been established to drive their implementation.
I am confident that these actions, many of which involve a multisectoral approach, will have a positive impact on the situation.