Thank you, Chairman. It is strange walking in here today as I was a former member of this committee. I am on the other side of the fence now. My predecessor in this post and I have embarked on an extensive consultation process. Deliberation on the development of a new national strategy will begin shortly and I would like to hear suggestions from members today that can feed into the new national strategy. The meeting is timely because the next stage of deliberations will be starting soon.
I wish to thank the committee for the opportunity to discuss the development of a new national drugs strategy to cover the period 2009-2016. I welcome this opportunity to address the committee and I look forward to hearing the contributions of the different members. I will listen carefully to their views and I see this interaction as a valuable opportunity for members to feed into the process of developing the new strategy.
The existing national drugs strategy grew out of the efforts of Members of the Oireachtas across various parties in the mid to late 1990s, and I would like to see the continuation of this cross-party support for the new strategy, so that we can maximise the impact of all of our efforts to tackle the drugs problem in a comprehensive way.
Problem drug use is a global issue and must be seen in that context. It is a complex and difficult area to deal with and no country has yet dealt successfully with all aspects of the problem. Against this background we must redouble our efforts to deal with the illicit drugs problem in Ireland. I would like to outline briefly the process being followed in developing a new national drugs strategy and the stage we have reached in that process. A steering group, comprising representatives of the key statutory, community and voluntary interests involved in tackling problem drug use, was appointed at the end of 2007 to develop proposals and to make recommendations to me on a new strategy. There are two main phases to their work, namely, a consultation phase and a deliberative phase.
The consultation phase involved an initial examination of the progress and impact of the current strategy, consideration of the degree to which it continued to be relevant in a changing Ireland and examination of the operational effectiveness of the structures involved. It also involved examining developments in regard to drug policies at EU and international level to ensure relevant successful developments and approaches were considered in the Irish context.
The consultative elements involved a series of 15 public consultation meetings across the country. As I was appointed to this position in the middle of that process, I attended many of the later meetings personally. The consultative elements also involved the following: meetings with relevant Departments and agencies; a series of meetings with key sectoral groups and organisations working in the drugs area; meetings with appropriate focus groups, including problem drug users and young people at risk; submissions by e-mail and in writing; and a Seanad debate in June.
Consultants were appointed to assist the steering group with this phase and they are now finalising their report which is expected within the next two weeks. The report will provide the basis for the deliberative phase upon which the steering group is now embarking. The committee's contributions today will also inform this part of the process. It is envisaged that the work of the steering group will be finalised in January next and a new national strategy will be submitted by me to the Government shortly thereafter.
The current strategy is organised under five pillars — supply reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research. It is thought likely that this approach which is largely in line with that of other EU countries will be retained. With respect to the supply reduction pillar, the volume of drugs seized, the number of seizures and the number of supply detections have significantly exceeded the targets set in the current strategy. It is clear that the Garda Síochána has put significant additional resources not only into local drugs task force areas but also across the rest of the country to address the drugs issue from both a national and local perspective. These additional resources are focused not only on detection work but also on enhanced levels of community policing.
While I congratulate both the Garda and the customs service of the Revenue Commissioners for their work in this regard, it is clear the availability of drugs has not decreased. Among the issues that need to be further addressed is the continued expansion of community policing forums within the context of the development of joint policing committees, because while there has been progress in regard to the establishment of joint policing committees, further community policing fora would significantly benefit some areas of greatest need. We must also address the fear, intimidation and violence in certain communities that arise from the drugs problem and consider the best approach to a perceived lack of consistency in the sanctioning of drug-related offences.
Improved prevention measures are crucial in any new strategy. Earlier this year the National Advisory Committee on Drugs, with the Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland, published the results of the 2006-07 prevalence survey. It found that while there had been an increase in last year drug use, last month use had stabilised. While the latter finding is welcome, the last year use figures give rise to concern about overall illegal drug use. The survey confirmed that illegal drug usage was predominantly a younger adult phenomenon, with those under 35 years accounting for the bulk of usage. It also underlined the emergence of cocaine as a threat, the response to which was developed and encapsulated in the joint National Advisory Committee on Drugs and the national drugs strategy team report to one of my predecessors in 2006 and which was subsequently published in 2007. In that regard, it is a key challenge for us to come up with a strategy that will be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to deal with any new drugs that will emerge in the coming years.
The current strategy addresses prevention under four key headings: early school leaving; drugs education in schools; drugs education and diversionary activities aimed at young people at risk in non-school settings, and awareness campaigns. Early school leaving continues to be a key issue within the broader social inclusion agenda, as set out in Towards 2016. The Department of Education and Science has in recent years developed a significant range of measures aimed at reducing early school leaving and this is showing positive results. Some drugs task force initiatives under the national drugs strategy have also helped in this regard.
In the school setting the Walk Tall and social personal health education, SPHE, programmes at primary and secondary level, respectively, are generally agreed to be conceptually sound and in line with the best evidence-based practice on prevention. However, concerns relating to aspects of their delivery have been expressed and this brings their overall effectiveness into question. The Department of Education and Science is finalising an evaluation in this area and the findings emerging therefrom will inform future development and implementation.
Drugs education in non-school settings is also extensive. However, because it is also somewhat unco-ordinated, it is difficult accurately to determine the impact made. Examples include drugs education provided through Youthreach, in community training colleges, under FÁS and in senior Traveller training centres. Under the young people's facilities and services fund, several youth organisations received funding to employ drugs education workers. The Health Service Executive also engages such workers.
While much has been achieved in the area of prevention, there are several key priorities for the coming years. A more concerted approach is required to prevention, particularly in addressing risk factors and developing the protective factors that can influence early experimentation with drugs. Emphasis will be placed on the improved delivery of the social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum and other education programmes through the implementation of the recommendations of the SPHE evaluation and the further development of quality standards in drugs education. There is a need to co-ordinate and regularly evaluate the activities and funding of youth interventions in out-of-school settings, both to optimise their impact and to establish that we are getting value for the money spent. There must be a more co-ordinated focus on orientating educational and youth services towards early interventions for people most at risk. Another priority is the development of a four-tier approach to service provision in regard to prevention and education. This would involve endeavouring to pitch the level of intervention at the correct level for those involved. In addition, we will focus on the development of appropriate national drugs awareness campaigns, supported as appropriate by dovetailing initiatives at local level.
With regard to treatment, there has been a quantum leap in the range and quality of services compared with what was in place in 2001 when implementation of the current strategy commenced. I acknowledge the dedication and commitment of those involved in delivering these services. The number on methadone treatment has increased substantially to approximately 8,600. Notwithstanding this expansion, the waiting times in a small number of locations must be addressed. There is also a need to make methadone more readily available on a wider geographic spread. While the number of general practitioners and pharmacies involved with the service has increased over the lifetime of the strategy, there remains a need for a further expansion of GP and treatment support services, particularly outside the Dublin area. In that regard, the Irish College of General Practitioners last week launched on-line training in dispensing methadone for GPs. I commend this initiative and hope it will facilitate the involvement of more GPs.
The future development of treatment services will be inextricably linked with the degree of success and the timeliness of the roll-out of primary care teams and social care networks by the Health Service Executive. More generally, the level of co-operation and complementarity between the statutory, voluntary and community sectors is crucial to successful drug treatment into the future.
Implementation of the recommendations of the report of the working group on drugs rehabilitation is likely to be a key element of the new national drugs strategy. The Health Service Executive will have the lead role in this regard. The executive is in the process of recruiting a senior rehabilitation co-ordinator who will chair the national drugs rehabilitation implementation committee which is being set up. The establishment of this committee, the membership of which will reflect the relevant stakeholders, was a key recommendation of the report. Its establishment represents an important step in developing the continuum of care approach recommended for clients, as well as the necessary inter-agency working.
Other areas that deserve renewed consideration in the context of a new strategy are: the further expansion of family support services; initiatives relating to the prevention and treatment of HIV and hepatitis B and C; a continued focus on treatment services in prisons and a continuum of care for people on release; and an increased focus on at-risk groups such as under 18s, the children of drug users, Travellers, members of new communities, homeless persons, sex workers and drug users with a mental illness.
The drugs problem in Ireland and worldwide is constantly evolving. We must endeavour to be flexible in our attitudes, structures and policies in order to adapt our approach to meet whatever challenges arise. The relevance of all aspects of the current national drugs strategy are subject to scrutiny, whether the structures for implementation, the roles of the various players or the more detailed actions outlined in the strategy.
The partnership approach of the statutory, voluntary and community sectors has been key in achieving the progress made so far. While a continuation of such a partnership approach is envisaged, we have an important opportunity to examine the structures through which we deliver that partnership and to consider whether there are different and more effective ways of achieving our goals.
Ireland has changed a lot since the current strategy was activated in 2001. Notwithstanding the economic difficulties we are now facing, the level of prosperity has increased, which has had many benefits for our people. However, prosperity has brought challenges, not least in the context of drugs. There is still a real need, one that should not be underestimated, to continue to focus on the heroin problem, particularly in the context of social disadvantage. At the same time, cocaine has emerged as a significant problem.
Another development has been the growth of polysubstance use, involving the combination of illicit and legal drugs, among them alcohol, during the lifetime of the strategy. The issue of alcohol use is something that people are increasingly exercised about and alcohol as a gateway to illicit drugs is an issue. The process of developing a new national drugs strategy affords the opportunity for debate on how synergies between alcohol and drugs policies can be improved and on whether a single substance misuse strategy is appropriate to cover all.
In this regard, I am cognisant of the all-party motion passed in the Seanad on 19 December last year and the ninth report of this committee, both of which recognised the problems of alcohol misuse and illegal drug use in society. The former acknowledged the need for a co-ordinated cross-departmental approach to these problems while the committee's report of July 2006 called for the inclusion of alcohol in a national substance misuse strategy. This issue is being examined by a working group, chaired by the Department of Health and Children, tasked with finalising a report by the end of this month. The recommendations contained therein will inform the development of a new national drugs strategy.
I can reassure the committee that I am determined to tackle the drugs problem during the coming years. In this regard, it is vital to get the new national drugs strategy right and to have relevant targets that are demanding but achievable, with the optimum structures in place to facilitate their implementation. I stress that this meeting represents an opportunity for members to input into the development of the next strategy. I am interested in hearing their opinions as elected representatives of the people.
Before I take comments or questions, members have seen the general timeline. The report on alcohol is due by the end of the month. I view today's meeting as being appropriate and timely in the process on which we are embarking.