Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 20 June 2024

Committee on Drugs Use

Drug Use Policy: HSE, Department of Justice and Department of Health

9:30 am

Photo of Paul McAuliffePaul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That was the last time the Oireachtas took a position on the matter, so the Department is taking its lead from that with the health diversion system. The citizens’ assembly appeared to go further than that. Mr. Reid made clear the assembly’s view when he was before us. It is an advisory body and its opinion is not law, so I accept the Department cannot take a lead from it, but does Mr. Ryan accept that there will be a hiatus between us making recommendations – I am not assuming what our recommendations will be – and the strategy that the Department is currently implementing? Is the Department building into the strategy future changes and the types of initiative that the citizens’ assembly considered or is it sticking to the 2017 point until we make a different decision?