Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on a new study from the National Advisory Committee on Drugs that states that though there have been improvements in the drugs situation in Dublin, certain communities are still frightened and at risk of being overwhelmed by their drugs experience; if he will respond to their recommendation that a new set of indicators to identify emerging drug problems earlier in order that they can be tackled more quickly should be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42840/06]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the report 'A Community Drugs Study: Developing Community Indicators for Problem Drug Use' as a contribution to the development of an appropriate set of community indicators that would reflect the changes in communities' experience of drug related issues. The study related to issues raised in 2004 and to services provided in 1996–2002. Further significant investment has been made by the Government since then, resulting in much increased service provision.

The aim of the report was to garner the experiences of three communities, Bray, Crumlin and Ballymun, with respect to drugs issues and to derive proposals from this regarding indicators that, if developed, might facilitate the better monitoring of changes in drug issues in communities.

Within the communities researched, it was heartening to see that so many improvements had been achieved, even at that stage, in regard to the expansion of drug treatment services, school leaving age, reduction in crime and improved employment figures over the period researched. Having said that, the report also outlines concerns and fears within the communities regarding changing patterns in drug use, binge drinking, anti-social behaviour and violent drug related crime.

The development of appropriate indicators is a difficult task and the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD) is currently exploring with the relevant Departments and Agencies the issues involved, from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective, in developing such indicators and in establishing the extent to which these indicators would provide more timely and useful information than is already garnered through the consultative processes utilised through the National Drugs Strategy Framework.