Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when he will commission the new comprehensive drugs prevalence survey in 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4443/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Advisory Committee on Drugs, NACD, and the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit, DAIRU — Northern Ireland, commissioned the first drug prevalence survey in 2002-03, with the purpose of establishing the population prevalence of drug use in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The NACD and DAIRU are currently seeking expressions of interest from potential tenderers for a new population drug prevalence survey. The new survey may again cover Northern Ireland as well as the Republic of Ireland.

It is intended that the fieldwork for the drug prevalence study will be carried out from around September 2006 to April 2007. Preliminary analysis will be done in the months following with a first report of national prevalence figures and trends expected later in 2007.