Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, the economic crisis necessitated significant reductions in health service expenditure in recent years. Notwithstanding the difficult economic climate, a range of new services have been introduced in the south east in the past five years, which have been of benefit to those in County Wexford who are affected by substance misuse issues. The additional services provided in Wexford include a new methadone maintenance treatment service and the expansion of needle exchange, with 12 pharmacies now offering this facility in the county. The HSE has also commissioned 12 new detox beds, including a four-bed adolescent detox service in Kilkenny, which can be accessed by people resident in the south east, including Wexford.

More than €3.8 million has been provided for addiction services in the south east this year, in line with the Government's policy of focusing resources on services. This includes €1.06 million for the south-east regional drugs task force, the same level of funding as 2014. Reflecting the Government’s commitment to the national drugs strategy, we have also provided an additional €2.1 million in the HSE budget nationally for this year for measures to benefit vulnerable problem drug users.

The resources available to address substance misuse will be kept under review in the context of the overall resources available to the health services and the most effective utilisation of those resources.

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