Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the delay as I was responding to a debate in the Dáil. I am pleased to address Members of the Seanad on my new role within the Department of Health, aligned to my responsibilities in the Departments of Justice and Equality and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in regard to the national drugs strategy. I wish to update the House on my priorities in advancing this agenda.

I am delighted to be afforded the opportunity to undertake this role. I see it as a vital role that needs the attention of a dedicated Minister. My experience as a teacher and principal in Dublin's north inner city taught me all about the horrors of drug abuse and the need to tackle the effects that it can have on the individual, their families and communities. I am deeply committed to doing all I can, as Minister of State, to reduce the damage that drug use causes to individuals and to wider Irish society. Problem drug use continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing our country. It results in damaging consequences for the individual concerned and for their families and it also impacts the wider community and society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction.

Those struggling with drug problems are often the most marginalised in our society. They may have multiple, complex and interlocking needs, such as poverty, housing, poor health and education, which require multiple interventions involving a range of different agencies. Consequently, the national drugs strategy aims to promote inter-agency working in a difficult cross-cutting policy and service area. Its overall objective is to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on the five pillars, which are: supply reduction; prevention; treatment; rehabilitation; and research. The strategy is based on a co-ordinated approach across many Government Departments and agencies, in conjunction with the community and voluntary sectors. We are beginning work on a successor to the current strategy, about which I will speak in more detail later.

The national drugs prevalence survey 2010-11 provided key data on drug prevalence in Ireland. For example, levels of illegal drug use were mainly stable in Ireland between 2006-07 and 2010-11. Some 7% of all adults reported using any illegal drug in the year prior to the survey; cannabis was the most commonly used illegal drug and 6% of all adults reported using the drug in the year prior to the survey; 6.5% reported using sedatives and tranquillisers in the year prior to the survey; and 5% reported using anti-depressants in the same period. This survey is currently being repeated and the information gathered will inform future policy direction and contribute to the development of the new strategy.Unfortunately, because of the nature of the particular issue, we do not have good data on heroin usage in Ireland. The national advisory committee on drugs and alcohol is currently undertaking a survey which will provide us with useful estimates of heroin usage. Even without this data, I am satisfied that heroin represents a substantial element of our drugs problem and I am determined to find the most effective ways to address this scourge.

The scale and nature of the drug problem in Ireland is constantly evolving. We need to maintain our focus on combatting this serious problem. It is also useful to acknowledge some areas where significant progress has been made in recent years.

Prevention and awareness programmes constitute a significant part of the Government's response to the drug problem. The social, personal and health education programme is the foundation for developing awareness of drug and alcohol issues in schools. I know from my own experience as a teacher and principal that maximising school completion rates is central to the prevention of potential problem drug and alcohol use. In addition, research shows that having a positive experience of school and learning is a major protective factor that reduces the risk of substance use.

As well as providing substance use education in schools, young people at risk of drug misuse are supported through diversionary programmes providing facilities and services and are offered family support. Very significant investment is being made in the Garda youth diversion programme. It seeks to divert at risk young people from becoming involved in criminal behaviour, including drug-related crime, and in preventing their succumbing to drug misuse. My colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, recently announced that an additional €2.8 million has been secured under dormant assets funding. The funding will enable a further ten new Garda youth diversion projects to be established in targeted areas. This will bring to 110 the total number of youth diversion projects in operation nationwide.

Achieving improved health outcomes for people with addiction issues is a key priority in the HSE service plan for 2015. In recent years, the HSE has placed a particular emphasis on ensuring that appropriate treatment services are provided, on a timely basis, to service users.

Waiting times for access to services, particularly outside Dublin, have been considerably reduced. At the end of December 2014, over 97% of clients over the age of 18 accessed treatment within one calendar month of assessment, while 100% of those under 18 received treatment within one week. Additional funding of €2.1 million has been provided in the HSE's budget for 2015, which includes an additional 53 beds, creating 439 new treatments.

There is now comprehensive coverage of needle exchange services across the country. The expansion of needle exchange outside Dublin, with the support of funding from the Elton John Aids Foundation, has resulted in the recruitment and training of over 130 community pharmacies. I recently attended a presentation by the HSE on how this programme is operated and I was impressed by the success of the initiative to date. In fact, during 2014 over 42,000 packs which contained over 240,000 needles were given out.

Approximately 9,800 people are availing of opioid substitution treatment. The number of new entrants to treatment, whose main problem drug is heroin, is in decline. However, in recent years the rise in polydrug use, including alcohol and prescription medication, has become an increasing cause for concern.

I welcome the HSE-led project on naloxone which was launched in recent days. Naloxone is an antidote used to reverse the effects of opioid drugs like heroin, morphine and methadone in some overdoses. This innovative project involves training lay persons, such as the family and friends of a drug user, in the administration of a naloxone injection to overdose victims. Research shows that providing increased access to naloxone for people likely to witness an overdose is an effective way of reducing overdose deaths. I have no doubt that lives will be saved as a result of this initiative. Every drug-related death is a tragedy for the families and friends of the person involved and has a considerable impact on communities and society as a whole. The provision of naloxone to those most at risk and their families is a real step in the right direction.

I believe that we also need to consider the introduction of medically supervised injecting rooms. There is a problem with street injecting in Dublin and elsewhere. This creates a public nuisance and is unhygienic and unsafe for drug users. Supervised injecting facilities exist in a number of other countries and it is a policy I am very interested in. Last week, I received a draft legislative proposal from Ana Liffey and the Bar Council's voluntary assistance scheme which would allow for the provision of such services. I welcome the initiative and I have asked my officials to examine the practical and legal issues surrounding the proposal.

A longitudinal drug treatment outcome study measuring the effectiveness of opioid treatment, called the Research Outcome Study in Ireland or ROSIE study, showed that drug treatment works. Significant reductions are shown in the key outcome areas of drug use, involvement in crime and in injecting drug use.

In terms of drug supply reduction, the drug market and associated crime has a particularly corrosive impact on Irish communities, whether that is by virtue of gangland crime and related murders or through the intimidation imposed in local communities by those involved in drug crime. Our criminal justice agencies continue to play a significant role in seeking to address the many challenges faced in tackling such drug-related criminal activity. Our law enforcement response in targeting those involved in drug trafficking remains an important feature of our overall approach in addressing the drugs issue. The continued disruption of the supply of illicit drugs remains a key priority area which is reflected in the Garda Síochána's policing plan for 2015.

Work in this area is being led by the recently merged Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. The bureau works with dedicated drug units across the country and other national units, including the Criminal Assets Bureau and targets those involved in the illicit sale and supply of drugs.

The specific strategies put in place by An Garda Síochána to address drug supply include the operation of targeted intelligence-led initiatives focused on particular aspects of the drugs trade. A further feature of our policing response is An Garda Síochána's ongoing close co-operation with the Revenue Commissioners' customs service and with other national drug law enforcement agencies, such as the Health Products Regulatory Authority, in tackling drug supply.

At an international level, An Garda Síochána has strategic partnerships in place targeting drug trafficking, including working closely with relevant law enforcement agencies such as Interpol and Europol. Last November, I was delighted to attend and speak at a successful major global conference that was held in Dublin which focused on tackling pharmaceutical crime. The conference was jointly hosted by Interpol, An Garda Síochána and the Health Products Regulatory Authority.

In addition, the national drugs strategy includes a number of specific actions which target related aspects of drug crime. For example, the problem of drug-related threats and intimidation has been the subject of increasing concern. The Government is determined to tackle this form of criminality which has a detrimental effect on families, communities and society as a whole. Under the strategy, a framework for tackling this particular problem has been put in place by An Garda Síochána. The drug-related intimidation programme has been established by the Garda national drugs unit in conjunction with the community based national family support network. The purpose of this programme is to respond to the needs of drug users, their family members and-or friends who experience drug-related intimidation to repay drug debts.

While good progress has been made, much work remains to be done. Problem drug users are individuals with their own individual needs. We must focus on their health needs and continue to promote the recovery of problem drug users, help them reintegrate into society and reach their full potential. This means services having a common vision on recovery and working together through a client-centred approach to foster client progression.

All services need to get behind the national drugs rehabilitation framework which is being rolled out across the country, with the support of the drug and alcohol task forces. The framework aims to ensure a continuum of care for the recovering drug user through promoting a client centred approach to rehabilitation across the spectrum of services and based on shared care planning.

Drug misuse is associated with a wide array of negative physical and mental health outcomes that are exacerbated with advancing age. Ireland has an aging population of people in opiate substitution treatment. The needs of this cohort pose unique challenges for services and underline the need for joined-up interagency working.

In 2012, there were 633 drug-related deaths in Ireland, which is a small decline in the overall number of drug-related deaths when compared with the 2011 figures. The number of deaths in which heroin was involved also continues to decline. Nevertheless, drug-related deaths still remain at an unacceptable level and every death is a tragedy. Evidence shows that those who are out of treatment are approximately three times more likely to die than those who are stable in treatment. Accordingly, we need to redouble our efforts to get people into treatment and on a recovery pathway.

Alcohol causes significant damage across the population, in workplaces, to children and creates a substantial burden on all in Irish society. The Government is committed to taking action to protect the health and well-being of the wider public, especially children, from alcohol use. A comprehensive and detailed package of measures has been approved to address the problem.

The general scheme of the public health (alcohol) Bill was published last February and the Bill is being drafted.The Minister for Health intends to have the Bill before the summer recess and to introduce it in the Houses of the Oireachtas in the autumn. The legislation is the most far-reaching proposed by any Irish Government, with alcohol being addressed for the first time as a public health measure. The Bill is part of a comprehensive suite of measures to reduce excessive patterns of alcohol consumption, as set out in the steering group report on a national substance misuse strategy. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, is leading the implementation of this strategy.

In March of this year, the Minister for Health brought forward emergency legislation to deal with an adverse Court of Appeal decision regarding the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977. The purpose of this Act is to prevent the misuse of dangerous or otherwise harmful substances, and it does so by declaring substances to be controlled under the Act and then imposing a range of controls on substances depending on their therapeutic or other value and their potential for misuse. The type of control provided for includes controls on possession, supply, importation and exportation, cultivation, licensing, administration, record-keeping, prescription-writing, destruction and safe custody of controlled drugs. The Act also establishes offences and penalties for non-compliance. Substances may be controlled by two mechanisms: either by being listed in the Schedule to the Act, or by being declared controlled by means of a Government order made under section 2(2). It was this section which the Court of Appeal ruling declared unconstitutional. The Court found that while it is appropriate for the Oireachtas to delegate the power to the Government to declare substances to be controlled, the Act did not offer sufficient guidance to the Government in its exercise of this power. The ruling had the effect of decontrolling all substances that had been controlled by Government order, including ecstasy, new psychoactive substances and benzodiazepines. This meant it was no longer an offence to possess these substances. The Oireachtas passed emergency legislation on 11 March to restore the controls on such substances by placing these in the Schedule to the Act. In addition, emergency legislation, namely the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015, confirmed a number of ministerial orders and regulations made under the Act. This means that those orders and regulations are as if they were an Act of the Oireachtas and cannot be amended or revoked without primary legislation.

My aim over the coming months is to bring forward another Bill to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act so as to allow the Government to control substances anew, thereby meeting our EU and international obligations to control substances that are dangerous and have the potential for abuse. Furthermore, the Bill will clarify the provisions under which Ministerial orders and regulations are made. This will once again allow regulations to be made and, if necessary and appropriate, to impose stricter or less strict controls on substances which are already covered under the legislation.

As Minister with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, I will be leading the development of the drugs strategy for the period after 2016. My intention over the coming months is to lay the groundwork for a concise and focused policy, placing a clear emphasis on the practical implementation of actions. The other consideration is the optimum timeframe for the new strategy, bearing in mind the evolving nature of the drugs phenomenon. This work will include an assessment of the extent to which the current strategy has provided an effective policy response to the drug problem. An examination of the approach to drugs policy and practice in other jurisdictions will also help to identify any additional evidence-based approaches that might be considered in an Irish context. I intend to consult widely and to meet with all groups and stakeholders concerned with the drugs issue. I want to listen to the concerns of those affected, and I am particularly keen to hear from young people, service users and their families. I also want to hear from people in this House who have an interest in and concern about this area.