James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is fair enough once we have clarity from members. There is a 5% reduction. We have a major problem with the drugs task forces and we are concerned about the drugs issue. There are 14 local drugs task forces which cover areas with the highest concentration of drugs activity. There are 12 in Dublin, one in Bray and one in Cork. There are also ten regional drugs task forces for the rest of the country. More than €19 million has been allocated to 209 local drugs task force projects and €8.7 million to 107 regional drugs task force projects.

However, further measures are required to improve management and control of funding. People will be consulted on changes to the number and boundaries of task forces. This is something we need to develop not just in this area, but also in primary care. We do not have good measurements of outcomes. We spend taxpayer's money and we need to know the money we spend yields results. We have a sense that certain things help but we have not been able to develop measurements of outcomes in the past. That is being examined now. All areas have had to take a budget reduction and this area is no different. I have no intention of changing the funding arrangements under this subhead but I would like to make sure we are achieving the results we should achieve, we are helping the people we should help and the money is being spent in a way that achieves the best outcomes for those who become addicted to drugs. It is a much broader issue than health, as there is also a law and order issue while supply and demand is a factor and education has a role. People must be educated that they should stay away from drugs because they can only cause harm and they do not know what they are getting. We have witnessed terrible tragedies in recent times.