Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Chairman, for your invitation to appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health to discuss the implementation of the national drugs strategy 2021-25. As you said, I am joined by two officials: the principal officer in the drugs policy and social inclusion unit of the Department of Health, Mr. Jim Walsh, and the HSE national clinical lead for addiction, Dr. Eamon Keenan. I am honoured to appear before the committee for the first time as Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy. The timing of my appearance is significant as I recently set out our new strategic priorities for this period. While I address this meeting as a Minister of State in the Department of Health, I emphasise that the national drugs strategy is a whole-of-government policy that involves many other Departments and is accountable to the Department of the Taoiseach and the Cabinet committee on social affairs and equality.

My first message for the committee is that drugs continue to be a major policy challenge for Irish society. I remind the committee of some of the components of the challenge. A total of 9% of the population used an illegal drug in the past year. This rises to one in four among males aged 25 to 34. In 2017, 376 individuals died from a drugs overdose. In 2020, 9,700 cases were treated for problem drug use, with another 5,800 cases treated for problem alcohol use. Many people experience the collateral impact of drugs, including children, families and communities, as documented in recent reports on Ballymun, Drogheda, Darndale, Tallaght, the north-east inner city and Dublin south-central. More than €200 million per annum in labelled public expenditure is spent on drugs policy, including €136 million from the Department of Health, with unlabelled expenditure and productivity costs amounting to in excess of €650 million. Then there is the scale of the drugs economy and criminal activity.

My second message is the commitment to a health-led approach in the national drugs strategy, whereby drug use is treated as a public health issue and not primarily as a criminal justice matter. Let me be clear: a war on drugs is not an effective response to drug use.

My third message is about the effectiveness of the national drugs strategy to date in addressing these challenges, in particular delivery on the 50 actions in the first period of the strategy, from 2017 to 2020. The recently published midterm review found that 25 actions either have been delivered on completely or are broadly on track. A further 20 actions are progressing but with a minor or major delivery issue. Specific achievements include prevention of the harmful effects of drug and alcohol use; improved access and availability of drug and alcohol treatment services; alternatives to possession of drugs for personal use; public awareness of the drug-related intimidation reporting programme; opportunities to exchange knowledge as to what works and to inform policy development; and engagement with the British-Irish Council and the European Union.

I now turn to the strategic priorities for 2021 to 2025 under the national drugs strategy. The priorities provide the framework for the actions to be decided for the remaining four years of the strategy. They are based on the evidence gathered during the midterm review of the strategy, covering 2017 to 2020, which I published in September. These priorities are also informed by the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic and the new EU drugs strategy and action plan 2021-25. The strategic priorities seek to better align Government policies on drugs and to strengthen inter-agency partnership, including collaboration with the voluntary and community sectors. In addition, the priorities strengthen the health-led approach and connect with the EU drugs strategy and action plan 2021-25.

The first priority focuses on protecting children and young people from drug use and the associated harms, based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The second priority is to enhance access and delivery of drug and alcohol services in the community. This includes both HSE addiction services and community-based services. The third priority is about harm reduction and integrated care pathways for high-risk drug users. The fourth priority addresses the social determinants and consequences of drug use in disadvantaged communities.

The fifth priority is to promote alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug-related offences, which is a litmus test for the achievement of a health-led approach. The sixth priority is to strengthen the performance of the strategy by promoting evidence-informed and outcomes-focused practice and policies. The priorities will be linked to outcome indicators so that we can measure the impact of the strategy. Indicators will include cannabis use among young people, the number of people receiving treatment, the number of drug-related deaths, experiences of drug-related violence and intimidation and convictions for possession of drugs. The vision values and the goals of reducing harm and supporting the recovery will continue for the remaining period of the strategy. The content of the strategy is, therefore, unchanged, as is the commitment to the inter-agency partnership between the statutory, community and voluntary sectors.

I will make a comment on the financial underpinning of the strategic priorities. In the previous two budgets I allocated €70 million in additional resources to the national drugs strategy. I reiterate my support for the rural drug and alcohol task forces to access local needs and enhance the provision of community-based drug and alcohol services. To this end, I have established a community service enhancement fund of €2 million on a recurring basis.

I pay tribute to the work of front-line drug and alcohol services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The designation of drug services as essential services at the start of the pandemic was a significant acknowledgement by the Government of the importance of the sector. I thank committee members for their attention and I look forward to their comments and questions.