Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the Seanad today on the subject of the national drugs strategy.

Sometimes much of Government's work goes unseen and unnoticed by the general public. Despite the growth and diversity in methods of communication, it is still quite difficult to put our message across in some detail. Today I am happy to discuss what the Government is doing, and wishes to do, to disrupt drugs misuse and to alleviate the problems it causes.

Tackling drug misuse is an international issue and is not an easy task. The United Nations Office on Drugs estimates that the value of the global illicit drug market for the year 2003 was over $429 billion, an obscene amount of money when one considers the damage done by illicit drugs. It has been claimed that, after oil and arms, the illegal drug market is the third most profitable in the world. This illustrates the scale of the task we face.

The use of drugs, particularly strongly addictive substances such as heroin and cocaine, has numerous social and economic costs. Drug-related deaths, blood-borne disease and other health consequences, are only part of the picture. These costs affect the individual, the family, the community and the State. No country has overcome the drugs problem. Neither the relatively heavy-handed approach of the United States, nor the softer touch of the Netherlands, has resulted in a drug-free population. There are no fully tested models to use; there are no quick and easy answers. Our national drugs strategy, however, which runs until 2008, demonstrates the Government's commitment to addressing drug misuse proactively and decisively. The strategy's balanced and complementary focus on reducing drug-related harm, and continued efforts to disrupt the operation of the drug market, are valid policy goals.

There are encouraging signs of progress in recent years, whether in the areas of drug seizures, the expansion of treatment services or prevention programmes in schools. The landscape has changed very significantly recently and we must acknowledge the work being done. While there is no room for complacency, it is important that we do no lose sight of the positive developments. We have made solid progress and will continue to do so in the future.

The drugs situation is dynamic and changing and our policies need to be flexible to meet those changes. The progress made in recent years is the result of co-operation and partnership. While working in partnership can be difficult at times, we must focus on the fact that working in a united way is more beneficial than taking a fragmented approach.

The national drugs strategy addresses several aspects of the problem of drug misuse, namely, supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research. Implementation of the strategy, across a range of Departments and agencies, is co-ordinated by my officials in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. We launched the strategy in 2001, having recognised that we needed to address the issue of drug misuse across Government, not just through one Department or agency. In doing so it was apparent that we would have little success if we did not work in partnership with communities. We have made considerable progress in implementing the 100 actions set out in the strategy. This is borne out by the review of the strategy, published last year. The review process included a comprehensive public consultation through which we engaged with and listened to communities.

The review was overseen by a steering group, chaired by my Department and made up of the relevant Departments and agencies as well as the community and voluntary sectors. It sought to assess the impact and direction of the strategy at its mid-point and concentrated on identifying beneficial adjustments to the strategy.

The steering group found that the current aims and objectives of the drugs strategy are fundamentally sound. The review found encouraging signs of progress since 2001 when the strategy was first launched. This suggests that the Government's current approach to tackling the drug problem is proving to be effective. The review highlighted the need to re-focus priorities and accelerate the roll-out and implementation of various key actions in the remaining period of the strategy up to 2008. In this context, a number of new actions and amendments were identified. Rehabilitation emerged as an important issue during the consultation process. It was felt by many that although there have been significant improvements in treatment provision, a lot more work is needed with regard to rehabilitation. A working group chaired by my Department was established last September to develop an integrated rehabilitation provision as the fifth pillar of the strategy.

The working group includes representatives from a range of Departments and agencies involved in delivering rehabilitation services, as well as representatives from the national drugs strategy team, the national advisory committee on drugs and the community and voluntary sectors. The terms of reference of the group include examining the current provision of rehabilitation services in Ireland and recommending actions to develop an integrated rehabilitation service for the future.

The working group has held a number of meetings, as well as consultations with interested parties. It is envisaged that its recommendations will be finalised by mid-year and that it will report to the interdepartmental group on drugs and to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion at that stage. Central among the bodies involved in dealing with the problem of drugs misuse is the national drugs strategy team. This is a cross-departmental team involving Departments and agencies operating in the drugs field with representation from the community and voluntary sectors. It plays a vital role in overseeing the work of the local and regional drugs task forces.

The local drugs task forces were established by the Government in 1997 in the areas worst affected by drugs. Twelve of the 14 in total are located in Dublin, with the others in Bray and Cork. Membership of the task forces includes representatives of all the relevant agencies such as the Health Service Executive, the Garda Síochána, the probation and welfare service, the relevant local authority, elected public representatives, the youth service, FÁS, voluntary agencies and community representatives. The local drugs task forces prepare local action plans, which include a range of measures dealing with treatment, rehabilitation, education, prevention and curbing local supply. In addition, the task forces provide a mechanism for the co-ordination of services in these areas, while at the same time allowing local communities and voluntary organisations to participate in the planning, design and delivery of those services.

There is no doubt that the local drugs task forces have played a very important role in recent years in tackling the drug problem and they continue to be key players in dealing with the problem in the worst affected areas. Many services and facilities have been established in recent years through the local drugs task force system. Since 1997, almost €125 million has been allocated to support this work across the 14 task force areas. In overall terms, over 450 community-based projects have been established, employing more than 300 staff and delivering services such as advice and support for drug misusers and their families; community drug teams offering treatment; outreach and crisis intervention services; and drug training programmes for community groups. The focus of the task forces is on the development of community-based initiatives to link in with and add value to the programmes and services already being delivered or planned by the statutory agencies in the areas. In recent months I have allocated approximately €850,000 to 15 projects under the emerging needs fund and with the finalisation of much increased financial allocations for 2006, I envisage bringing the total allocations under this fund to over €3 million in the near future.

The success of the local drugs task forces can be largely attributed to the positive and active involvement of local communities. I look forward to the same active involvement from communities in the regions in the implementation of all the regional drugs task force plans.

The creation of the regional drugs task forces, covering all parts of the country outside the 14 areas, is further proof that the Government is delivering on the commitments in An Agreed Programme for Government. The regional plans were submitted last year and approved in September. Allocations totalling approximately €5 million annually were made to the ten regional drugs task forces. With this funding the regional drugs task forces have begun to implement a range of drugs programmes in communities across the regions.

Members will be aware that drugs are not just an issue for Dublin and the establishment of the regional drugs task forces show that the Government has fully recognised this fact. Furthermore, I envisage the level of funding will be increased in future years as the regional drugs task forces get up and running. Drugs misuse is a complex issue which is not confined to urban areas or to one region of the country.

The illicit drug market can be read as having three interrelated levels. The global market incorporates drug production and international trafficking. The next tier involves the importation and distribution of drugs at a national level. The final tier is that of the local drugs market. The national drugs strategy specifies a number of challenging supply reduction targets for the Garda Síochána in terms of all drug seizures and these targets are being met.

The success of Garda operations has resulted in significant drug seizures. Drugs with an estimated street value of approximately €49 million were seized in 2002, rising to €100 million in 2003 and to €132 million in 2004. Successes such as the big increase in seizures of cannabis resin, amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy in 2004, are testament to the focus that our law enforcement agencies have placed on supply control over the period of the strategy to date. Customs and Excise has seized almost €197 million worth of illegal drugs between 1999 and 2005. I have no doubt that such success will continue especially with the recent acquisition of a mobile X-ray scanner and increased numbers of drug detection dogs.

The young people's facilities and services fund was established by the Government in 1998 to assist in the development of youth facilities, including sport and recreational facilities and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. The main aim of the fund is to attract at risk young people in disadvantaged areas into these facilities and activities and divert them away from the dangers of substance abuse. The target group of the programme is young people in the age range of ten to 21 years. Approximately €99 million has been allocated from the fund for the development these youth facilities. Many of these investments have been made in areas where, traditionally, there has been a dearth of facilities in the past and where there was very little proactive encouragement given to at risk young people to become involved in activities and programmes as alternatives to drug misuse.

The Health Service Executive has also made great strides in the provision of treatment. Almost 8,000 heroin misusers are receiving methadone treatment, well over double the number treated in 1997. The estimates from the national advisory committee on drugs indicate that the number of heroin users has begun to fall in Dublin and has stabilised at relatively low levels nationwide. In order to help prevent recovering addicts from relapsing, approximately 1,000 places are available for recovering drug misusers under the special FÁS community employment scheme.

The social, personal and health education, SPHE, programme is compulsory in all primary and post-primary schools. It provides young people with the knowledge and self-confidence to say "No" to drugs. The national drugs awareness campaign contains four phases and is aimed at different societal groupings.

The joint drug prevalence survey was undertaken in partnership between the national advisory committee on drugs and the drugs and alcohol information and research unit in Northern Ireland. It is hoped to conduct another such survey later in the year. In 2005 I launched four pilot cocaine treatment projects to examine different methods of treatment for cocaine use. Independent consultants have been engaged to conduct an evaluation of the pilot projects. The four projects to be rolled out will be concentrating on intravenous cocaine users, poly-drug users using cocaine, problematic intranasal cocaine users and problematic female cocaine users.

The strategy covers all illicit drugs and action was taken in that regard late last year, following the sad death of a young man who had consumed magic mushrooms.

I wish to assure the House that there will be no relaxation in the current classification of cannabis. It is my view that a change in the law on the possession of cannabis, or a reclassification of the drug, would be of no benefit whatsoever in tackling drug abuse. It would aggravate the problem because it has been proven that long-term cannabis usage can trigger mental illness, such as schizophrenia and depression.

The Government has proved itself to be committed to tackling the drugs problem. This is made patently clear by our financial investment in the area. In 2004, the allocation for drugs initiatives was €26.756 million. This was increased by 18% to €31.5 million last year. The recently published Revised Estimates Volume provides for €43 million for 2006, which is an increase of 37% on last year's allocation. It represents a rise of 60% on the 2004 figure. One may claim that those figures are small but it is important to realise that once projects are piloted and evaluated they are mainstreamed and then transferred to the Department of Education and Science, the Garda Síochána, a local authority or the Health Service Executive. There is probably another €25 million worth of projects that started at local drugs task force level, which have been mainstreamed out and where the funds have been transferred.

I wish to restate the Government's commitment to playing its part in the efforts to prevent drug abuse. Tackling the drug problem is a key priority for the Government and will continue to be so. Few areas of Government, if any, have enjoyed such an increased level of financial commitment.

I thank Senators for allowing me to address the House. I look forward to hearing their comments.