Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 282: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of clients that are receiving methadone treatment, the yearly cost of such treatments; and if he will report on the average waiting time for heroin addicts seeking help in the various Dublin health board areas. [16575/04]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for the provision of drug treatment services rests with the health boards in the first instance. Since 1997, additional funding of €52 million has been provided to health boards to fund a wide range of drug treatment services. Those services include methadone maintenance, methadone detoxification, education, outreach services, rehabilitation and counselling.

I am advised by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, or ERHA, that, as of 30 April 2004, 6,611 clients were in receipt of methadone treatment in the Eastern Region, shown in Table 1. That represents 95.5% of clients in treatment nationally.

I am also advised that, as of 30 April 2004, there were 319 clients awaiting methadone treatment, and the average waiting time for clients on the list was 5.5 months, shown in Table 2.