Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 April 2018
79. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Health if the new programme to promote community awareness of alcohol-related harm from the last quarter of 2017 to the summer of 2018 will be fast tracked; if the associated funding will be increased from €0.25 million to €0.5 million in view of the fact it will be a full year since the new national drug and alcohol strategy was published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16290/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe national drug strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery. A Health-led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2015, aims to protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing related to substance misuse by preventing early use of alcohol and other drugs among young people, influencing behaviours and challenging social norms and attitudes.
Substance misuse prevention strategies targeting families, schools and communities are an effective way of promoting health and welling among the population. Raising awareness of the risk of substance use and increasing understanding of the harmful effects of substance misuse is an important part of the work of prevention.
Prevention is a collaborative effort involving a range of stakeholders. Prevention programmes should be evidence-based, adhere to quality standards and involve participants in programme design and implementation.
To support this objective, my Department is developing a new programme to promote community awareness of alcohol-related harm. An additional €0.25m will be made available in 2018 to fund phase 1 of the scheme, with the expectation that this will increase to €1m in 2019. It is anticipated that the scheme will commence in the last quarter of 2018.
My Department is undertaking preparatory work to develop the programme and will consult with relevant stakeholders, including the bodies overseeing the national drugs strategy. It is important that the additional resources are used carefully to maximise the impact. I will provide further details on the programme when this work is completed.
