Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Deputy Joan Collins’s motion on the national drugs strategy. It has taken a back seat under Fine Gael and certainly has not recovered since recessionary cuts were made. There have been no increases in funding since 2015 despite global opium trade increasing by 65% from 2016 to 2017, the highest estimate ever recorded. Cocaine manufacturing went up 56% during 2013 to 2016, to its highest level ever in 2016 and Europe’s early warning system monitored 670 new psychoactive substances on the market by the end of 2017, up from 300 in 2013.

It is evident that the illegal drugs industry is creatively expanding its products to expand its reach. It is exploiting the funding gap created by governments across Europe which slashed funding during the recession creating a vacuum allowing the drug trade can slip in. It can now smuggle in an entire range of synthetic drugs to add to that.

While drugs are a huge problem globally, I want to focus on something which is more of an issue than drugs in my constituency of Donegal and that is alcohol abuse. According to the north west drug and alcohol task force, alcohol remains the primary drug of choice while the secondary drug of choice is cannabis. In its 2017 annual report, some startling figures revealed the reality of alcohol addiction in Donegal. Out of 1,202 people referred for treatment, 860 were for alcohol and 258 were for drugs. A total of 749 were male and 439 were female. The numbers are steadily increasing. In 2016 a total of 593 men and 319 women were admitted, of whom 691 were admitted due to alcohol. In 2015, a total of 767 were admitted for alcohol addiction in the north west.

I am aware of the great work the north west drug and alcohol task force has been doing in Donegal in particular. It does so much and yet it has the second smallest budget in the country. Only the west has a smaller budget and the north west drug and alcohol task force has an enormous geographical area to cover. With the funding it gets, it funds an aftercare worker and aftercare groups across Donegal. Its funding is also used to strengthen a family programme for young people, children and families, and this is done through the alcohol forum. The north west drug and alcohol task force also funds a youth drug and alcohol worker through Foróige and a training and development officer through the Donegal ETB delivering drug and alcohol training and education.

The new national strategy has a strong element of family involvement and family support in the treatment of alcohol addiction. As a result the task force, working with a number of stakeholders and the Minister of State, will be hosting the launch of the community alcohol action plan for Letterkenny at the end of this month. This multidisciplinary initiative is the first of its kind in Donegal. It is a collaboration between Donegal County Council, the alcohol forum, youth groups and Letterkenny Institute of Technology. I hope that it goes far in the area of education and offering family supports. As well as needing more Government funding, the national drugs strategy needs to look more at collaborative efforts taking place across the country and should reflect the need for more of these types of initiatives. The community alcohol action plan for Letterkenny is an example. I understand a family support worker has been funded for south Donegal and north Leitrim to help bolster family supports in the area.

The north west drug and alcohol task force has done a considerable amount despite little being offered by the Government. However, more could be done, for example, if funding was provided to support the Bill W Club in Donegal town, which supports adults in recovery from alcohol addiction. I have met those running the club a number of times and have tried to help them get funding but it is hard for them to get the support because of the limited funding provided to the alcohol forum in the north west. That is the only forum and the only way that funding can be accessed by any group.

Another aspect that needs more focus is the rise of hidden harm. The experience of children living with, and affected by, parental substance misuse has become known as hidden harm because these children are often unknown to services. While task forces do their best to offer treatment to those who present themselves for help, we do not know about those who are not presenting themselves for treatment. It is very hard to monitor and will have major repercussions in the future for children's mental and physical health.

The motion will do much to address the situation facing Dublin and urban areas but less to address the situation in rural constituencies like Donegal. However, that is not to say that same thing might not happen and funding will need to increase to maintain a focus on early warning and emerging trend and monitoring mechanisms.

I commend the hard work carried out by the north west drug and alcohol task force and local community groups like the Bill W Club which do so much with so little. Their incredible work should not be taken for granted by this or any Government.

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