Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the Acting Chairperson. I thank the Minister of State for being here. I am sure we will see a lot of each other over the next four years. I know she is aware this is an issue and an area I have focused on throughout not only my legislative career but also by working in addiction services since the age of 17. When I am not in the Chamber, I am still very much involved with community projects. I still have friends and family who rely on drugs services. A lot of my peers and colleagues also work in the services. The general feeling at the moment is confusion in relation to the national drugs strategy and the steps that have been, and are being, taken in not only the evaluation of the drugs strategy we are just coming out of but also the consultation process for the development of the new drugs strategy. The general feedback from some services is the national oversight committee has been brought in potentially for some departmental consultation regarding the drug strategy.

The feeling, though, is that is very much a top-tier conversation. In the past, we did have to work hard - maybe two or three strategies ago - to ensure that community as a pillar remained in the text of the drugs strategy. We have had to hold on to this element very strongly. In relation, then, to engagement on the consultation process, to have it only with the implementation groups or the national oversight committee would mean the general population of the community and voluntary sector would not get to engage with Grant Thornton in this regard. We want to know if that conversation was the consultation and if it is complete, or if there is going to be a wider consultation where community development projects and drugs services can invite in their members to be part of the consultation.

Going to the evaluation aspect, is potentially under way with Grant Thornton. I do not know if Grant Thornton is doing the consultation - that is one question - or if the company is just doing the evaluation of the last strategy. They seem to have come in reverse a little bit. We are not sure if what has happened with the Department is being said to be the consultation and there will be no wider consultation, and then the evaluation will come after. In the past, there was the evaluation that allowed for consideration of where we are at in regard to the previous drugs strategy and then a steering group and independent chair were put in place. I think, last time, his name was John Carr. That worked really well because we had that independent aspect of the evaluation of the drugs strategy.

Another question, then is: who is overseeing the evaluation? Is there a steering group? Is there an independent chair? Will there be a wider consultation process with the wider community and voluntary sector to ensure we have as representative a sample as we can across the country concerning the drugs strategy. We know drugs strategies will be more successful if the people who are supposed to feed into them feed into them. They will also want to carry the strategy forward because they will be able to see that their voices have been heard within it.

The other question I have concerns with is the citizens' assembly. We have had it and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use. There was word that, potentially, the submissions to the citizens' assembly were going to be used as part of the consultation for the national drugs strategy. This seems like an odd step to take, so I just want to clarify if this is the case. I ask this because it was the role of the citizens' assembly to evaluate those 800 submissions and following that evaluation, it came up with its report. If anything, it is that report of the citizens' assembly that should have formed some sort of part of the consultation, rather than going back a step to the 800 submissions from the wider public to the citizens' assembly. Is it the final report of the citizens' assembly and the work of the Oireachtas joint committee that will be looked at to form part of the consultation with the wider community and voluntary sector?

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. I know how passionate she is about drugs policy. As she said, she has been working on this area for a long time and working with people in her community. Regarding the answers I do not get to today, I guarantee to her that I will meet her in the next few days and come back to her, if that is fair enough.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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Yes.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to be talking to the Senator about this matter today. The strategic action plan 2023-24 marked a significant milestone in the implementation of the national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery. It contained 34 actions across six strategic priorities. These were to: strengthen the prevention of drug and alcohol use and the associated harms among children and young people; enhance access to and delivery of drug and alcohol services in our communities; develop integrated care pathways for high-risk drug users to achieve better health outcomes; address the social determinants and consequences of drug use in disadvantaged communities; promote alternatives to coercive sanctions for drug-related offences; and strengthen evidence-informed and outcomes-focused practice, services, policies and strategy implementation.

The completion of this strategic action plan marks the end of the current national drugs strategy, as the Senator mentioned. The Department of Health has commissioned an independent evaluation of the strategy and the action plan, which is expected, and we are hoping, will be completed in the second quarter of 2025. The evaluation is being conducted, as the Senator said, by Grant Thornton, which was appointed following a public procurement process.

It will consult with stakeholders involved in the oversight of the strategy, including the network of drug and alcohol task forces and organisations such the National Voluntary Drug and Alcohol Sector, UISCE, CityWide and other community-based drug services. This is part of the programme, and this is what we need to look at. At the same time, the Department of Health has commenced work on preparing a new national drugs strategy. The new strategy will be informed by the evaluation, which is looking at the existing strategy, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use, the programme for Government, developments in the EU drugs strategy and action plan, and consultations with stakeholders, which is an important matter to the Senator.

To support the development of the next strategy, the Department has convened a number of in-person consultations with key stakeholders. The themes of the consultations include priorities for the new strategy; planning and delivery of drug services in the HSE health regions; the lived and living experience of people who use drugs and their families, which I know the Senator is passionate about and is important; the development of the drugs workforce; and drug prevention. More than 250 people have attended the consultations to date. These include representatives of drug and alcohol task forces, drug service providers and civil society organisations. The consultations are being facilitated and reported upon by independent consultants. I expect to receive the reports of the consultations shortly.

A key component of the new strategy will be the report of the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use. The report argues for a comprehensive health-led response to drugs. It contains 36 recommendations on prevention, harms reduction, treatment and recovery. The Joint Committee on Drugs Use supported the recommendations in its interim report in October 2024.

As Minister of State with responsibility for the national drug strategy, I look forward to finalising the draft of the new strategy in the coming months. We cannot be complacent as to the societal harms and dangers associated with illicit drug use and a volatile drug market. The new strategy will set out an ambitious vision for preventing drug use, improving access to evidence-based treatment services and supporting people’s recovery from drug use. It will also strengthen co-operation with EU member states, the British-Irish Council and the Council of Europe in addressing the challenges of illicit drug use. It is my intention to engage with the Oireachtas in implementing this new strategy because I am conscious that we need to have cross-party support for it. We all need to work together on this.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I appreciate that. It teases out the difference between the evaluation and the consultation. I have some queries that I will follow up on with the Minister of State regarding the consultation, as some people felt that the Department was very top down instead of asking the community and inviting people in, so the community and voluntary sectors did not get to set the parameters of what that consultation looked like, meaning it was a little tight and was not kept open ended.

It is good to hear that the citizens' assembly report will be taken into consideration rather than the submissions being examined again. The Minister of State might request that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use interim report on drugs be taken into consideration because that was the next step after the citizens' assembly. It was a Government decision to have that committee, which means that the interim report and its contents have support from all parties and none. That should also set a basis for the consultation. I will email any other outstanding questions to the Minister of State directly.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future sets out the Government's commitment to a health-led approach to drug use. The key actions to support this commitment include assessing the outcomes of the national drug strategy; publication of a new strategy; diverting those found in possession of drugs for personal use to health services, which is a matter the Senator is passionate about; increasing funding for drug treatment services; and launching a major awareness campaign on the impact of drugs on society.

To support the implementation of the new strategy, I will shortly announce details of an additional €4.2 million to be provided under budget 2025. This new funding will enhance access to delivery of drug and alcohol services in the community and strengthen the prevention of drug and alcohol use among children and young people to minimise the harms of drug use for families and communities. There is not a family or someone they know that has not been touched by drugs. It is important that we get this right. I thank the Senator for raising this question with me.