Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

It is vital we recognise that the drugs problem is a volatile and changing one and that our policies need to be flexible to meet that change. It is also important to recognise that the progress made in the last few years has come about through a process of co-operation and partnership. We must focus on the fact that working together in a united way is far more beneficial than utilising a fragmented approach, especially when dealing with a problem as pervasive as drugs in our society.

I will give the House some information on the structure, with which Members will be familiar. There are a number of elements to the Government's approach to tackling drug misuse. The national drugs strategy addresses the problem of drug misuse across a number of pillars — supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research — and implementation of the strategy across a range of Departments and agencies is co-ordinated by my officials in the drugs strategy unit of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

We launched the strategy in 2001, having recognised that we needed to address the issue of drug misuse across all the agencies and Departments, not just through one Department or agency. It has been apparent that the way to do it was to work in partnership with all the agencies, Departments and community groups.

We have made considerable progress in implementing the 100 actions, which we set out in the national drugs strategy. This is borne out by the review of the strategy, which was published last year. The review process included a comprehensive public consultation process, where we engaged with, and listened to, communities on the ground. That included a number of meetings I attended around the country and in this city.

The mid-term review of the strategy was overseen by a steering group, chaired by my Department and comprised representatives from the relevant Departments and agencies as well as from the community and voluntary sectors. The review sought to assess the impact and direction of the strategy at its mid-point stage. It concentrated on identifying beneficial adjustments to the existing strategy and highlighting priorities for the second phase up to 2008.

The steering group found that the current aims and objectives of the strategy were fundamentally sound and that there were encouraging signs of progress since 2001 when it was first launched which suggests that our current approach to tackling the drug problem is proving to be effective. I am not suggesting that all is perfect and accept there is no room for complacency. The review highlighted the need to refocus priorities and accelerate the roll-out and implementation of various key actions in the remaining period of the strategy up to 2008. The changes recommended will strengthen the strategy and enable it to better deliver its aims.

Rehabilitation emerged as an important issue during the consultation process. It was felt by many that, although there have been significant improvements in treatment provision, much more work is needed with regard to rehabilitation. In this regard, a working group was established last September, chaired by the Department, to develop an integrated rehabilitation provision as the fifth pillar of the strategy.

The working group includes representatives from a range of Departments and agencies as well as the community and voluntary sectors. It is expected to finalise its recommendations by mid-summer and that it will report to the interdepartmental group on drugs and to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion at that stage. Among the bodies involved in dealing with the problem of drugs misuse is the national drugs strategy team, NDST. This is an interdepartmental team involving Departments and agencies operating in the drugs field with representation from the community and voluntary sectors and it plays a vital role in overseeing the work of the local and regional drugs task forces, LDTFs. The LDTFs were established by the Government in 1997 in the areas worst affected by drugs. Twelve of the 14 LDTFs are located in Dublin, one in Bray and one in Cork. Membership of the LDTFs includes representatives of all the relevant agencies such as the Health Service Executive, the Garda Síochána, the probation and welfare service, the relevant local authority, elected public representatives, the youth service, FÁS, voluntary agencies and community representatives. The task forces prepare local action plans which include a range of measures for treatment, rehabilitation, education, prevention and curbing local supply. In addition, they provide a mechanism for the co-ordination of services in these areas while, at the same time, allowing local communities and voluntary organisations to participate in the planning, design and delivery of services.

The LDTFs have played a very important role in recent years in tackling the drug problem. They continue to be key players in dealing with the problem in the worst affected parts of the city and country. Many services and facilities have been established over the past nine years. More than €125 million has been allocated to support the work of the 14 LDTFs and this year expenditure on LDTF projects is €16 million. There are approximately 450 community-based projects, employing more than 300 staff and delivering services such as advice and support to drug misusers and their families in the worst affected areas. The focus of the LDTF plans is on the development of community-based initiatives that will link in with and add value to the programmes and services already being delivered or planned by the statutory agencies.

Last year we set up an emerging needs fund to facilitate a flexible and timely response to changing needs in regard to drug misuse in local drugs task force areas. Some 54 projects have been approved to date and funding of more than €3 million has been provided for them.

We have also introduced a premises initiative fund which looks after the provision of accommodation needs of community-based drugs projects. Approximately 60 projects have been helped and almost €14 million has been allocated to the fund. The initiative will be extended to the regional drugs task force areas for the accommodation needs of community-based projects.

The success of the local drugs task forces can largely be attributed to the positive and active involvement of local communities. I look forward to the same active involvement from communities in the implementation of the regional drugs task force plans. Ten regional drugs task forces have been set up and they cover all parts of the country outside the 14 LDTF areas, further proof that we are delivering on the commitments of the programme for Government. There are regional drugs task forces in all areas. Deputy Cowley said there was not one in Mayo, but there is. Every part of the country is covered by a local or regional drugs task force.

Last year when the regional drugs task forces submitted their plans, l approved an initial annual sanction of €5 million for them. l envisage that funding will be increased on an incremental basis over the coming years to achieve the full roll-out of the plans, which are estimated to cost approximately €12 million. Until now, interim co-ordinators have been working on these task forces, but they are now being replaced by full-time appointees. It is expected that all ten full-time co-ordinators will be in place within the next month. The RDTFs have started to implement a range of drugs programmes in communities and l expect these will accelerate as the full-time co-ordinators come on board.

Drug misuse is a complex issue and is not confined to urban areas or to just one region of the State. I accept that and that the problem has spread. The illicit drug market can be seen as having three interrelated levels: the global market, which incorporates drug production and international trafficking; the importation and distribution of drugs at a national level; and the local drugs market, which is basically the drug dealer who supplies to the individual. If we can disrupt the supply in the top two levels, we can prevent drugs ever reaching the individual. This is the reason the work of the Garda Síochána and the customs and excise is so important. They have achieved considerable success, although they have not managed to stop supply.

The drugs strategy specifies a number of challenging supply reduction targets for the Garda Síochána. In terms of drug seizures, these targets are being met. Garda strategies for dealing with drug offences are designed to undermine the activities of organised criminal networks involved in the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs. The strategies include gathering intelligence on individuals and organisations involved in the distribution of drugs, conducting targeted operations on criminal networks based on intelligence gathered, and working in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, both within and outside the jurisdiction, to address problems from a national and international aspect.

The success of Garda operations has resulted in significant drug seizures. In 2002, the value of seizures amounted to €49 million and this increased €132 million in 2004. The upward trend continues. People will say that more is getting through, which may be true, but gardaí are working hard and doing their best to stop drugs at all levels. The Garda community policing initiatives are proving successful in the push against drug misuse.

Customs and excise seized almost €200 million worth of illegal drugs in the past six years. No doubt such success will continue, especially as a result of the recent acquisition of a mobile X-ray scanner which can scan full 40-foot containers. This will aid drug detection and do a similar job to a scanner at an airport. Drug seizures are one of the many encouraging signs of progress and of the good work being done by customs and excise and the Garda Síochána.

The Department has also invested in facilities and services through the young people's facilities and services fund which is aimed at diverting young people away from drug misuse. The fund was established seven or eight years ago and is used for the development of youth facilities, including sport and recreational facilities, and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. The main aim of the fund is to attract at risk young people in disadvantaged areas into these facilities and activities and divert them away from the dangers of substance abuse. We target young people in the age range of ten to 21 years who are defined as being at risk.

To date, the main focus of the fund has been on the local drugs task force areas where integrated plans were prepared on the basis of detailed guidelines agreed by the Cabinet committee on social inclusion. In addition to these areas in Dublin, Bray and Cork city, funding was allocated to four other urban areas — Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Carlow. Until recently these areas only had services, but we have allocated capital funding to Waterford and Carlow and may extend this to Galway and Limerick. Funding was also provided to a number of voluntary organisations with a national or regional remit with the capacity to deliver targeted education and prevention initiatives. Approximately 450 facility and services projects now exist, with approximately 300 employees being supported under the fund. To date, more than €100 million has been allocated from the fund for the development of youth facilities and these have been very successful.

The main focus of the national drugs strategy in respect of the educational sector is on preventative strategies targeting primary and secondary level as well as the informal education sector, including youth services. Our children are now being educated on the dangers of drugs through the social, personal and health education programme, which is compulsory in all primary and post-primary schools.

We also have a national drugs awareness campaign. The four phases of the national drugs awareness campaign which have been pursued to date have been aimed at the population in general and at certain groups such as parents, cocaine users and cannabis users. A number of data sources, including drug treatment data, law enforcement data and official survey data at national level, are used to determine the extent of drug use in society. These data sources have recorded increases in the incidence of cocaine use in Ireland, albeit from an initial low base, in recent years.

A joint drug prevalence survey was undertaken by the national advisory committee on drugs, which acts under the remit of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, in partnership with the Northern Ireland drugs and alcohol information and research unit. The survey is seen as providing the most reliable baseline data on drug prevalence in Ireland. The cocaine-specific data from the study, which I launched in January, are based on a survey of 8,442 people aged between 15 and 64 between October 2002 and April 2003. The survey found that just over 3% of the population had used cocaine at some time. One could argue that the information is three years old and that the situation might have deteriorated since then. It was the first time that detailed baseline information on issues such as the regular use of cocaine was available at a population level.

The survey asked whether people had ever used cocaine, whether they were regular users of it, why they decided to quit its use and how and where it was obtained. It also gathered attitudinal information about cocaine use. Its findings confirmed that cocaine is becoming a drug of choice for many young people. It has probably always been available, but it was more likely to be used by professional people in the past. The use of cocaine has spread to the extent that it is now a drug of choice for many young people.

I understand that the survey I mentioned, when compared with similar comprehensive population surveys in other European countries, found that the level of cocaine use in Ireland is roughly average or perhaps slightly higher than average. The national advisory committee on drugs is seeking expressions of interest for tendering for a second drugs prevalence survey. With the baseline figures which are already available, the new survey will allow us to measure the changes in the use of various illicit drugs in the past few years. One often encounters bits of surveys, but the survey I have mentioned was very detailed. Approximately 8,500 people were interviewed in their homes for between 30 and 45 minutes. The survey, which went into great depth, is seen as the authoritative baseline study. When the second study has been completed, we will be able to track the changes which have taken place.

With the prevalence survey, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and I are actively involved in co-operating with our colleagues in Northern Ireland at meetings of the misuse of drugs sector of the British-Irish Council. The council, which is a forum for the exchange of information and best practice, was established under the Good Friday Agreement. The members of the council include the British and Irish Governments, the devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the assemblies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Each jurisdiction takes the lead on one of eight topics. Ireland takes the lead on the issue of drugs through the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. Regular meetings of senior officials take place on specific drugs related themes. Each meeting is attended by national experts in the particular area under discussion, thereby facilitating the exchange of views and allowing members to network with their colleagues in member administrations. Four senior level meetings are scheduled to take place this year on the commissioning of drugs treatment services, the confiscation of drugs related criminal assets, the rehabilitation of drug misusers and the use of subutex as a possible treatment for opiate misusers. Ministerial level meetings are usually held once a year.

The Health Service Executive has made significant strides in the provision of treatment services, such as prevention services and hospital and residential care services, if required. Specialist services, including needle exchange, detoxification and relapse prevention are provided for people with specific needs. More than 8,000 heroin misusers are receiving methadone treatment, which is more than twice as many as seven or eight years ago. The national advisory committee on drugs estimates that the number of heroin users has started to fall in Dublin and has stabilised at relatively low levels elsewhere. Capital expenditure in the past seven or eight years has resulted in the provision of 47 addiction clinics. The HSE employs more than 730 people in addiction services, in addition to the 300 people who are employed in local drugs task forces and the more than 300 people who are employed in the young people's fund.

The extraordinary investment that has been made means that between 600 and 650 people are working in projects which started at community level. Those who always say that more investment could be made should bear in mind that more than 700 people are employed by the HSE and between 600 and 650 people are employed in projects which started at local drugs task force level. A substantial investment is being made and a great deal of good work is being done.

No substitution treatment drug is available to treat cocaine misuse. Existing services such as counselling and behavioural therapy are the best treatments available. It should be noted that the health authorities have recruited additional counsellors and outreach workers in recent times. In 2005, I launched four pilot cocaine treatment projects to examine different methods of treating cocaine use, as well as a training initiative focusing on frontline workers, many of whom were originally dealing with heroin users. It is important to upskill the staff as circumstances change so they can deal with new situations. Funding was provided by the Department to support these initiatives. The four projects deal with intravenous cocaine users, poly-drug users who use cocaine, intranasal cocaine users and problematic female cocaine users. Consultants have been engaged to conduct an evaluation of the pilot projects. This work has commenced and it is expected that a preliminary report will be available in the coming months.

I am aware that Deputy Crowe has submitted parliamentary questions about a project in Tallaght. That project will continue to receive funding until its evaluation has been completed.

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