Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

More than 2,000 people participated in overdose awareness and naloxone administration training in 2023. The work is ongoing in relation to having more people trained in its administration. Regarding availability, more than 6,000 units were given out last year, with 4,000 units distributed by July of this year. It is available where we believe there is a need for it. The international overdose awareness day on 30 August provided an opportunity to remember those who have died of drug overdoses and raise awareness of stigma and preventative measures. I acknowledge the grief felt by families on the death of a loved one due to drug poisoning and I welcome the reduction in the number of drug-induced deaths. I acknowledge the contribution of drugs' services to this outcome.

To reduce harm and prevent overdoses we need to encourage people to get medical help if they feel unwell or suicidal after using drugs and not to hesitate or delay because of stigma and fear. It is also important that services are available locally when needed. I am pleased that more than €4.2 million in additional funding has been secured in budget 2025 for new drug initiatives. This includes €4 million for harm reduction initiatives, including a rapid response to the threat of synthetic opioids, a waste water drugs' surveillance programme and extended opening hours for the supervised injecting facility in Dublin city centre. In order to continue to reduce deaths from overdoses, I am committed to ensuring that naloxone is accessible to services, families, emergency services and An Garda Síochána. It is important to understand that the Department and the HSE want to do everything possible to make naloxone available where there is a likelihood of a person overdosing. The Deputy raised the issue of the number of people who have died alone. The number is still extremely high, where no one can get access to them and this is something we need to work on, to ensure that people can get access to services in a timely manner.

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