National Drugs Strategy

Information

Ireland's National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 'Building on Experience' (pdf) was developed with the co-operation and input of various state agencies and voluntary and community groups working in drug-affected areas throughout the country. Some of these state agencies include Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas , the Gardai (Irish police force), Vocational Educational Committees , the prison service , local authorities and Government departments . All contributors to the strategy were asked to identify any gaps that they saw in the Government response to the drug problem and make suggestions and recommendations for the formulation of an improved strategy. The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has overall responsibility for the management of the National Drugs Strategy in Ireland, but there are a number of other Government departments and state bodies involved in its operation. Four areas were pinpointed in the Strategy as being "crucial" in any attempt to address the problem:

• Reduction in the supply of drugs
• Prevention of drug use (including education and awareness)
• Drug treatment (including rehabilitation and risk reduction)
• Research

Reduction in the supply of drugs

The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has the primary role in trying to reduce the volume of illegal drugs on the streets. The Department works with and co-ordinates the efforts of the Gardai, the courts , the prisons service, and the Probation and Welfare services in the fight against drugs. This Department is also responsible for legislating to inhibit the supply of drugs. Both the Irish Naval Services and the Customs and Excise section of the Revenue Commissioners are also heavily involved in trying to stop drugs trafficking.

Prevention of drug use (including education and awareness)

By raising awareness of the dangers of drug misuse and educating people as to its possible effects, the Government hopes to reduce the demand for drugs in Ireland. There are a number of Government departments involved in these preventative measures. The Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children advises local Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas on drug abuse prevention policies and provides funding for these policies. The Department of Education and Science is heavily involved in running awareness and education programmes in schools throughout the country to communicate the dangers of drug misuse to children and young people. The Gardai and the Local Drugs Task Forces are also involved in raising awareness of the drug problem though their education programmes for schools and communities.

Drug treatment (including rehabilitation and risk reduction)

Drug treatment and rehabilitation services are primarily operated by the Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas under the guidance of the Department of Health and Children. These treatments include addiction counselling, detoxification programmes and methadone treatment programmes. Because of the serious nature of the drug problem in prisons, the prison services are also heavily involved in treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers. Their aim is to provide the same standard of care for drug abusers in a prison setting that is available from the HSE Areas in the community. FÁS operates a number of programmes aimed at helping reformed drug users get back into the workforce and the Voluntary Drugs Treatment Network offers a forum for community and voluntary drug groups to share information and co-ordinate their services.

Drug Treatment Court

In 2001 a Drug Treatment Court was set up (on a pilot basis), in north Dublin to deal specifically with drug-related crime. In February 2006 the Courts Service announced that the Drugs Treatment Court is to be put on a permanent footing and plans for it to be extended on a staged basis across Dublin city. The Court, which has operated on a limited basis for the last number of years, has had a major and long lasting effect on the quality of life of many of its participants.

The court uses a multi-disciplinary approach to help those before it to tackle the cause of their criminal behaviour. That is, drug addiction. The team consists of a Judge, Probation and Welfare Officer, an addiction nurse, a Garda liaison officer, an education/ training representative and access to other professional as needed. The Drug Treatment Court program is not suitable for everyone. It is a tough and difficult set of tasks and self examination over a long period of time. For those who do continue and graduate from the program it has proven a very rewarding experience.

Research

The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) is responsible for analysing all available research and drugs information and advising the government on drugs policy issues based on their findings. The Government will also use information provided by the Drug Misuse Research Division of the Health Research Board . This unit is responsible for operating the National Drug Treatment Reporting System , the main source of drug use information in Ireland.

Local Drugs Task Forces

The Government set up the Local Drugs Task Forces in response to the worsening situation in areas that were already hard hit by drug misuse. In all, 14 task forces were established, most concentrating on the Dublin area: Ballyfermot, Ballymun, Blanchardstown, the Canal Communities, Clondalkin, Dublin North Inner City; Dublin South Inner City, Dublin 12, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, Finglas-Cabra, Cork City, North East Dublin, Tallaght and Bray. It was hoped that the task forces would help the Government to respond more effectively to the drug situation in these areas and would also allow members of those affected communities a chance to get involved in the fight against drugs. Members of community and voluntary groups and elected officials were asked to work with Government agencies in coming up with new and more effective programmes of education, awareness, prevention and treatment. The task forces were asked to prepare action plans for their area, which would co-ordinate the drugs services that already existed and would identify and eventually fill in any gaps in the services. To date, over 200 projects have received funding from the Government. These projects range from support centres and rehabilitation programmes for drug users and their families to drugs awareness training. After positive independent evaluation of the achievements of the task forces, over half these projects have now been guaranteed continued funding from the Government.

Regional Drugs Task Forces

The success of the Local Drugs Task Forces has led to a recommendation in the National Drugs Strategy that Regional Drugs Task Forces be established in each of the current regional Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas, including each of the three that make up the HSE (Eastern) Area. These new task forces will replace the existing Regional Drug Co-ordinating Committees but will further develop their responsibilities. As with the local task forces, the regional task forces will be made up of community and voluntary groups and those working for Government agencies. This will allow the task forces to co-ordinate their response to the drug problems in their regions. The regional task forces will be asked to put together regional plans to combat drug misuse and to analyse and identify gaps that exist in the drugs services at the moment. It is planned to convene the first meeting of each task force by the end of March 2003.

Regional Drug Co-ordinating Committees

These committees have been established in many Health Service Executive (HSE) Areas and are made up of representatives from the HSE Area, the Gardai, the education sector and members of community and voluntary groups who work with those affected by drug misuse. They are be in regular contact with the National Drug Strategy Team to make sure they are following Government policy in whatever measures they may be taking. The Regional Drug Co-ordinating Committees are soon to be replaced by the Regional Drug Task Forces.

The National Drugs Strategy Team

The National Drugs Strategy Team (NDST) is responsible for the monitoring and overall management of the local drugs task forces. It acts as a liaison between these task forces and the Government and makes policy recommendations to the Inter-Departmental Group on the National Drugs Strategy based on the observations and experiences of those working on the task forces. The NDST also reviews the need for local drugs task forces in areas particularly affected by drug abuse, e.g., areas badly affected by heroin use. As well as overseeing the operation of the local task forces, the NDST is responsible for the establishment of Regional Drugs Task Forces. When this happens, the NDST will have to evaluate any action plans drawn up by a regional task force (as it currently does with all local task forces) and make funding recommendations to the Inter-Departmental Group. The NDST must be kept aware of any initiatives or programmes that may be set up to tackle the drugs issue and that would affect the areas covered by the both the local and regional drugs task forces. The NDST is made up of representatives from Government departments and agencies working in the drugs area and members from both the voluntary and the community sectors.

National Advisory Committee on Drugs

The National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) was set up in 2000 to advise the Government on the most effective ways of handling the drug use situation in Ireland based on an analysis of the available information and research. The committee is made up of representatives from Government departments, community and voluntary groups who work with those affected by drug misuse and people from academic or research backgrounds. To date, the NACD has produced an official report called "Drug Use Prevention: an overview of research", which analyses drug misuse in Ireland and makes recommendations to the Government about how it should respond. The Committee also manages a three-year programme that aims to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about drug misuse in this country. The programme involves developing an inventory of existing information and research on drug misuse and improving the co-ordination of research and information-gathering. It also involves gathering information on drug use in Ireland, analysing the effectiveness of current prevention and treatment methods and trying to establish the human cost of drug abuse in Ireland. In September 2002, the NACD launched a community and voluntary research grants scheme to generate innovative community-based drugs research. As a result, a number of community groups are currently working on research projects in their local drugs task force areas.

The Inter-Departmental Group on the National Drugs Strategy

The Inter-Departmental Group on the National Drugs Strategy is involved in monitoring the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy. It does this in conjunction with the National Drugs Strategy Team. The two groups are also responsible for reviewing the Government's policy on drugs and making recommendations to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion. The Inter-Departmental Group on the National Drugs Strategy is made up of representatives from relevant Government departments:

Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion

The Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion was set up in 1997. It is chaired by the Taoiseach and is made up of the Tanaiste and Ministers from the following departments:

• The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism
• The Department of Education and Science
• The Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government
• The Department of Health and Children
• The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform
• The Department of Social and Family Affairs
• The Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal at the Department of the Environment and Local Government
• The Minister of State for Local Development (with special responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy)
• The Minister of State for Children
• The Minister of State for Rural Development
• The Attorney General .

The Inter-Departmental Group keeps the Committee regularly briefed on the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy. The meetings provide an opportunity to review trends in drug misuse and also in the treatment and prevention of drug misuse. The Committee also assesses the progress of the various strategies and programmes that have been put in place at national and local level to combat the drug problem. If there are policy and organisational issues that prevent a swift response to the drugs problem, the Committee will try to resolve them as quickly and effectively as possible.