Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

It is timely that we are addressing this issue today, in view of the findings just published by the Health Research Board on the abuse of alcohol. There is increasing anecdotal evidence of significant mixing of alcohol and other substances, such as cocaine, heroin, benzodiazepines, ecstasy and so on. We are now getting to the stage where there is a problem with polydrug use. The fieldwork on an all-island prevalence study of drug misuse has been completed. We expect to publish the results before the end of the year, and it will give us a strong indication on the nature of drug use and how it has changed since the last study was conducted in 2003. We would be foolish to think that it will not indicate an increase in the use of certain drugs.

We are working with the HSE, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on implementing the findings of the cocaine report and the rehabilitation report, both of which were published earlier this year. I am satisfied with the level of progress on the implementation of those at the moment. We have had meetings in the past few days with a number of working groups. There is an emerging strategy on alcohol misuse, which is being carried out by the Department of Health and Children. I am anxious that there be a close synergy between the drug misuse strategy and the alcohol strategy. We are teeing up the review of the current national drugs strategy, which will run from 2009 to 2016. We would be foolish if we did not make the best use of the time available to us to marry both.

The HSE will be handling a number of the cocaine-specific projects. Under the national drugs strategy in my Department, we have a number of pilot projects in Tallaght, the south inner city and the north inner city. Some of them have been more successful than others by their very nature. Those which deal with particular target groups have been successful. We have also concentrated heavily on promoting the training of front-line workers. Merchants Quay Ireland provides training and 104 people have been trained there. The Leeds Addiction Unit in Leeds University is also providing training in cognitive behaviour therapy, while the Waterford Institute of Technology is running a number of courses in that regard. Complementary therapies are regarded, along with cognitive behaviour therapy, as being one of the best ways of dealing with the problem, and the Blanchardstown local drugs task force has been involved in such therapies.

There are many other projects, such as the Finglas-Cabra drug task force, Croí Nua in Crumlin, the DROP project in Dún Laoghaire and an ongoing project in Cork. There are also linked projects and the Irish Prison Service has engaged Merchants Quay Ireland to provide counselling in prisons in order to prepare prisoners who are being discharged. There is also a good link project in Cork Prison with the local drugs task force and the Health Service Executive, HSE. This provides the context regarding the Department's position in this regard. I am uncertain whether this has satisfied the Deputy.

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