In its ninth report published in July 2006, the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, recommended that alcohol should be included in a new national substance misuse strategy. In December that year my predecessor as Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, Mr. Noel Ahern, T.D., met with the Joint Committee and indicated that he had an open mind on the issue and was supportive of exploiting any potential synergies that are identified. I would support this view.
Also in December 2006, a Working Group on Alcohol and Drug Synergies was established by the Department of Health & Children, which has overall responsibility for the coordination of alcohol policy, to explore the potential for better co-ordination between the two areas and I receive regular up-dates on their progress through the Inter-departmental Group on Drugs which I chair. The report of that Group is likely to be available in the coming months and any recommendations arising will be considered by the Steering Group that I have established to work on the development of a new National Drugs Strategy for the period 2009-2016.
Meanwhile, I attended at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in January and I stressed that I would welcome their input to the process that will lead to a new Strategy.