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National Drugs Strategy.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2004

Tuesday, 5 October 2004

Ceisteanna (96, 97, 98, 99)

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

196 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the recommendations which were submitted to his Department by the sub-group established within the national drugs strategy team; the steps he intends to take to act upon these recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22693/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

At the request of my Department, the national drugs strategy team established a sub-group to report on and recommend appropriate pilot projects which might be established to deal with the issue of cocaine misuse in local communities. The sub-group's report was received by officials in my Department within the last week and the recommendations contained in it are being examined at present. Following consideration of the report, I hope to be in a position to allocate funding to implement the recommendations in the coming weeks.

Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Ceist:

197 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on whether safe injecting rooms should be provided for drug addicts in prisons; and his further views on whether such facilities should also be available for addicts who are not part of the prison population. [22902/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

As the Deputy may be aware, in May last, the national advisory committee on drugs, NACD, produced a report entitled Review of Harm Reduction Approaches to Minimising the Sharing of Equipment Used to Administer Drugs. The report was commissioned in response to action 100 of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 which called for research to be conducted into the effectiveness of new mechanisms to minimise the sharing of equipment, for example, non-reusable syringes and mobile syringe exchange facilities within particular cohorts of the drug using population, that is, among younger drug misusers, within prisons etc.

Arising from the report, the NACD recommended that service provision for drug users in prison should mirror the range of treatment and harm reduction approaches which are available in the community. In this regard, the Government has been developing drugs services in prison, including methadone maintenance, over recent years. However, full implementation of this recommendation, in particular in relation to needle exchange, obviously poses serious issues within a prison environment and will have to be very carefully examined. Policy regarding drug misuse in prisons is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

With regard to supervised drug consumption rooms, the NACD report found that the evidence on their effectiveness is inconclusive. This is in line with the conclusions of the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008, although the strategy did call for this issue to be kept under review and for the results of research, both national and international, to be monitored. The NACD report also acknowledges the view of the INCB, International Narcotics Control Board, that drug consumption rooms violate the provisions of the international drug control conventions to which Ireland is a party. Therefore, the position of the Government has not changed and, accordingly, there are no plans to introduce such facilities.

The introduction of consumption rooms would require changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act, responsibility for which lies with my colleague the Minister for Health and Children.

Question No. 198 answered with QuestionNo. 186.

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

199 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will address the funding difficulties of the regional drugs task forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22762/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Dan Neville

Ceist:

201 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if the budgetary allocation to the regional drugs task forces will be significantly increased, in view of the recent figures released by the NACD, which highlight the growth of heroin abuse outside of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22695/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 199 and 201 together.

The National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 provides for the establishment of ten regional drugs task forces, RDTFs, throughout the country. Currently, the RDTFs are mapping out the patterns of drug misuse in their areas — as well as the range and level of existing services — with a view to better co-ordination and addressing gaps in the overall provision. In this context, the Deputies should note that an amount of €500,000 has been provided by my Department, in the current year, for administrative and technical assistance costs incurred by the RDTFs in the preparation of their plans.

The work being undertaken by the RDTFs will, when complete, feed into the drafting of regional action plans, which will be assessed by the national drugs strategy team in due course. Where heroin misuse is a problem in particular regions, this can be reflected in the action plans being developed. I am hopeful that all of this work can be completed by early 2005 and that I will then be in a position to bring recommendations in relation to the funding of the plans to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion.

The Estimates process for 2005 is currently ongoing and the Deputies will appreciate that the allocations for my Department for next year have not yet been finalised. However, it is my intention that significant resources will be targeted at tackling drug misuse throughout the country and I would expect the RDTFs to be in a position to begin the implementation of their plans by mid to late 2005.

Question No. 200 answered with QuestionNo. 150.
Question No. 201 answered with QuestionNo. 199.
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