Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I agree this task is one of the most challenging there is. Having spent the past three months meeting local drugs task forces and some regional drugs task forces, I am very impressed by the range of work being carried out at local level by the community and voluntary sector and by the statutory sector. In regard to the amount spent, I can provide the Deputy with a detailed breakdown. In 2006, in excess of €200 million was spent across a range of Departments and agencies, including the drugs strategy unit, the Department of Health and Children, the HSE, FÁS, the Department of Education and Science, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Prison Service, the Garda Síochána and Customs and Excise. In addition, there was considerable further expenditure on schemes that have been mainstreamed since the drugs strategy was put in place over the past ten years, ranging across a number of Departments and agencies, including the Departments of Education and Science, and Health and Children, FÁS and others.

In regard to targets, the National Advisory Committee on Drugs is constantly reviewing the targets and benchmarking against previous studies. The mid-term review of the national drugs strategy is almost complete. All the projects have been evaluated. We are close to identifying those that will be in a position to be mainstreamed and they will be re-examined. The actions in the national drugs strategy, of which there are more than 100, are being reviewed. In the Rehab Group annual report, which was published at the height of the general election when few of us had time to read it, there is a proposal to increase the number of treatment detox beds, some of which will be in a hospital setting. I have been examining how the community and voluntary sector, under strict clinical governance, could increase the number of detox beds in that area. I am discussing that with some of the providers. One measure of success is the ROSIE study. It is a very detailed piece of research which is mirrored across other European and OECD countries and tells us how we are doing. We are doing reasonably well but complacency is not something we can afford.

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