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

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. This Government is committed to tackling alcohol misuse in Ireland and the widespread harm it causes. Alcohol is causing significant damage across the country, affecting the workplace and children and imposing a substantial burden on all in Irish society.

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill which my Department is currently drafting is a part of a suite of measures agreed by the Government in 2013 on foot of the recommendations in the steering group report on a national substance misuse strategy 2012. The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill incorporates a number of the recommendations in that report and addresses the underlying factor behind alcohol misuse, namely affordability, availability and attractiveness.

The Health Service Executive national service plan 2015 aims toprogress the implementation of the national substance misuse strategy including the community mobilisation pilot on alcohol initiatives in five drug task force areas and the further development of a co-ordinated approach to prevention and education interventions in alcohol between all stakeholders including third level institutions. The HSE provides services to prevent and treat addiction to alcohol. People who present for alcohol addiction treatment are offered a range of interventions namely initial assessment, comprehensive assessment, the Minnesota Programme, brief interventions, individual counselling, self-help, peer support or a combination of these. The delivery of these services is based on the four tier model of treatment intervention and services are designed to respond to the individual's specific identified needs. This care model implies that clients should be offered the least intensive intervention appropriate to their need when they present for treatment initially. Interventions range from community and family based supports and primary care services through to specialist support services either in the community or residential settings.

Inter-agency co-operation between the HSE, drugs task forces and multiple other community, statutory and voluntary agencies form the basis of this delivery as the target is to provide services where possible in a community environment. Counselling and rehabilitation services provide care for those presenting with an addiction through one-to-one counselling and onward referral to other statutory and voluntary groups where appropriate. The HSE also provides funding to a number of voluntary service providers who treat drug and alcohol addictions.

I am informed by the HSE that Ait Linn is currently funded by the Ballymun Regeneration group. While it submitted proposals for funding to the HSE's addiction service, the HSE was not in a position to offer funding to the group this year due to competing priorities and available resources. I understand that Ait Linn has met with the HSE and as it is a local service, it has have been advised to contact the local addiction service and drugs task forces. Barrymore House is a residential detox service run by the HSE. The executive has advised that due to staffing issues the programme has been temporarily suspended. However, it is in the process of recruiting new counsellors and plans to re-establish the residential programme in August.

The remit of the drugs task forces was extended to include the problem of alcohol misuse last year in view of the central role they play in co-ordinating the response to substance misuse at local level. The dormant accounts action plan for 2014/15 includes provision of €l million for a specific substance misuse measure. Over €41,600 in funding will be available to every task force in the country for a range of activities aimed at raising awareness of alcohol-related harm and changing attitudes to alcohol in our society

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