Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I appreciate the fact the Minister of State is here so I hope we can get some information for the local drug and alcohol task forces. These are the people who are doing the work on the front line in communities affected by drug abuse. I hope to hear differently from the Minister of State but it seems as though this Government is continuing the policy we have seen over the past ten years or so of what is the effective slow strangulation of our drug and alcohol task forces.

We know that between 2015 and 2025, the overall health budget increased by 94.7%. It has almost doubled and yet core funding for local drug and alcohol task forces decreased by 4.5%. In its new budget, the Government is saying that there is no cut to funding for community drug services in 2026 but when we dig into the detail, that does not seem to be the case. The first year cost of auto-enrolment for drug task forces will be 1.5%. That will increase year on year but in the first year, we are talking about a cost of 1.5%. There is no funding provided to enable the task forces to meet that. That is a crisis for them. These people want their staff to be able to access pensions but this needs to be resourced. Where are they meant to come up with this money? There is no uplift for these projects to cover the rising cost of living, so it certainly looks like a cut in core funding because extra costs are being put on them without extra resources being provided for it.

It is concerning that in the fact sheet on the budget from the Government, there is no reference to the drug related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, project. This is an interagency project to respond to drug-related intimidation. This programme is rolled out in different task forces across the country. In Whitechurch in my constituency, the Whitechurch addiction support project, which is supported through DRIVE, caters to 75 families. These families are receiving threats from drug dealers. It is an horrific situation to be in. I have spoken to people in this situation many times. Because of DRIVE, the project was able to hire a dedicated worker for families experiencing drug-related intimidation. It managed to get two-year funding for this from the community safety innovation fund. That funding has now ceased and the project does not know what it will do from 1 January. What support will it be able to provide for the 75 families it was able to help in the past year? I hope it is just an error and that funding is being provided for DRIVE, so I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response on that.

A clear sign the task forces are being effectively run down from the top down is the fact they are not going to be included in the new reference group to support the implementation of the new national drugs strategy. The Department is saying that it will take a cross-sectoral approach as opposed to a representative one, so the people who are delivering these services on the ground in places like Tallaght, Whitechurch, Ballymun and other places across the country suffering from deprivation and experiencing drug abuse and all the problems that go with it will not be listened to. There is a saying from the disability rights movement "nothing about us without us" and yet here the people on the ground providing the services are not being included in the development of the implementation of the new national drugs strategy.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery, sets out the Government’s strategy to address the harm caused by substance misuse in Ireland up to 2025. Work is ongoing in the development of a successor strategy. We are working on that and it is to do with everybody. I am making sure that everybody is involved in it.

I am keenly aware that drug and alcohol task forces play a key role in implementing the national drugs strategy at the local level. They assess the extent and nature of the drug problem and initiate appropriate responses, so there is a co-ordinated approach involving all sectors to the problem of substance use in local communities and local communities are consulted in the design and delivery of services. I am very much aware of the work of the task forces and I can assure the Deputy that they will be very much involved in every part of our strategy. I compliment them on the great work they do. Officials in my Department have regular engagement with key representatives from the task force network. This presents an opportunity to discuss policy and operational issues affecting task forces and to hear first hand about issues of concern in local communities. We really know the role they play and are very appreciative of the work they do and the information they give us. This informs decision-making relating to the allocation of funding and provision of services. The Department allocated €161 million under the national drugs strategy in 2023. This represents an increase of 28% on 2017 funding levels at the start of the outgoing strategy so there has been an increase.

In accordance with a population-based allocation model, all new funding for drug services is distributed under the remit of the HSE health regions with service priorities to be identified in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including drug and alcohol task forces. The Department and the HSE provide approximately €28 million in funding to the 24 drug and alcohol task forces. I have met most of the chairs and am working with them because the Department and I appreciate the work they are doing. This funding provides for the operation of approximately 280 drug and alcohol projects across the country.

I remain committed to the strategic priority from the outgoing national drugs strategy to enhance access to and delivery of drug and alcohol services in the community. I am delighted that budgets 2024 and 2025 allocated a total of €10.2 million in new recurring funding for drug services. In 2024, an additional €2.3 million was provided for community-based services, including €1.5 million to sustain existing services and €0.8 million to support the recovery of people from drug dependency and their integration into everyday life. Recently, I announced details of a further €1.89 million for community-based drug services in 2025 to be distributed through the health regions.

This would be through the community services enhancement fund. The money will be used to improve access to services in unserviced communities, to promote evidence-based innovations in service design and delivery and to enhance services for people who use stimulant drugs. I have encouraged task forces to apply for this funding. I will be working with all the task forces to apply for this funding. I am fully committed to the provision of drug and alcohol treatment services.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I appreciate the answer but the Minister of State knows as well as I do that it does not actually answer any of the points that I raised. I am hoping that in her two-minute supplementary response the Minister of State will address these issues. I appreciate that she gave the answer she was provided with but this is causing real concern for task forces across the country. I will repeat the basic points I made in my initial contribution. First, there is a cut to core funding of the task forces because no funding is being provided for auto-enrolment. Will the Minister of State clarify if any extra funding is going to be provided to meet the 1.5% increase in costs in the first year? Second, I asked about an additional ongoing funding uplift for the projects to cover the cost of living. Third, I asked about DRIVE, an important national project which was being rolled out across the country but appears to have disappeared in terms of funding. There is still a website talking about how good it is and there is a press release about it but currently, as far as I can tell, there is no funding provided for it.

In addition, I ask the Minister of State to address the exclusion of the local drugs and alcohol task forces from the reference group to support the implementation of the new national drugs strategy. She said that they are an integral part of the delivery of this, but it does not look like they are an integral part when they are not being included in it. I look forward to answers to those questions. I repeat the point that it certainly looks to me, and I think to many other people on the ground, that there is a slow strangulation of these task forces, which are providing vital services on the front line. Applications can be made for things like the community services enhancement fund, but that is not a substitute to core funding. That is what we hear from the task forces all the time. It is not a substitute because they cannot make long-term plans on the basis that they apply for this grant now. They need to be able to have permanent staff and be able to provide a future for people. They need to be able to pay for their pensions, so the key thing is core funding.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I am very much aware of the excellent work the task forces do. They are very much part of what we see when we look at what services are needed within the communities. The Department and I are working with the HSE to include the 24 task forces in everything. We have an all-together group. All of us working together is not about being excluded. I am making sure everyone is included. Anything to do with drugs and families is a huge concern to me in the sense that we are talking about people's lives here. I can assure the Deputy that everybody will be included.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Will they be included in the reference group?

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I will be working with the different groups. The reference group has been set up, but I will continue to meet the chairs of the task forces. This needs to go back to the task force groups that the Deputy is working with. I can assure the Deputy that I appreciate the work they do.

Auto-enrolment is a whole-of-government approach, working through the Department. It is something the Department is working on. There have been no cuts to funding within my own sector. We got an increase this year.

I launched DRIVE recently. I am so proud of the work it does. As the Deputy said, in Whitechurch 75 families were able to access this. I have made this a priority. I will look into the issue with DRIVE in the Whitechurch area. I say "well done" to those who have done all the work to ensure 75 families have been getting help and support. That is what I am here to do. The Department and I are here to make sure we have those services for our vulnerable families that need that support. As I said, I will come back to the Deputy on that. I assure the Deputy that the new drug strategy is a key priority for me and the Government. I am very mindful that drugs are not just a Dublin issue. Drugs are also a rural issue. This is an issue all around Ireland. With the great work that the 24 task forces do, I have to make sure I look at all services around the country to make sure that the families in need get assistance. I thank the Deputy again for raising this really important issue.