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

I assure the Deputy that this is something that Government is very aware of and something that Government is very concerned about. The Deputy is right to say that the political will to bring about a reduction in road deaths made a big difference. Although the phenomenality around road traffic deaths and deaths related to drug use is very different, it required some similar things. It required education, political will, legislation and a change in approach and tolerance for certain behaviours like drink-driving, speeding and so on.

We have a national drugs strategy. That is being implemented. I mentioned how the greater availability of naloxone was saving lives and will save more lives into the future. I have mentioned how we are reviewing the approach to criminalisation and whether we should move away from a criminal justice-based approach to one that is about health. I look forward to the report of that body on that.

Regarding task forces, they have had their budgets cut over the years, although in recent years the budget has either been held steady or has been increased in some cases. Certainly, the budget for social inclusion within the HSE has been increased and was increased in the previous budget. We always need to bear in mind when it comes to any of these local implementation bodies, irrespective of whether it is a drug task force, that we need to compare one with the next and see if some are getting better results. We know from so many things in society that more resources do not necessarily mean better outcomes. We need to make sure that we put the resources behind policies and implementation bodies that produce results.

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