Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the steps he is taking to increase funding for drugs task forces and other community based drugs projects. [33576/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which he has grant-aided or otherwise assisted drug rehabilitation programmes in urban and rural areas here to date in 2008; his proposals for further expenditure in the course of the remainder of 2008; his projections in this regard for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33842/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which he has by funding or otherwise assisted community groups involved in the fight against drugs to date in 2008; his proposals for the remainder of 2008 and projections for 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33844/08]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 153, 333 and 335 together.

As the Deputies will be aware, the majority of expenditure allocated to community groups through my Department for drugs initiatives is channelled through the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces. Projects are submitted through Drugs Task Forces to the National Drugs Strategy Team who make recommendations to myself, as Minister with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy, on funding.

Over 440 Local Drugs Task Force (LDTF) projects, including those under the Emerging Needs Fund, are receiving funding from my Department. The 2008 allocation of €22m for such projects shows an increase of 9.5% over the amount spent in 2007. In the region of 170 of these projects focus on treatment and rehabilitation.

Across the ten Regional Drugs Task Force (RDTF) areas, work is progressing on the implementation of their Action Plans with the level of expenditure expected to increase by over 40% this year. Expenditure in 2007 on the ten RDTF plans came to over €7m and the increased provision in 2008 will allow for the full year cost of the approx. 155 community projects already in progress and this year sees the start of roughly another 40 projects. In 2007, a total of 67 treatment and rehabilitation projects were approved for funding and this is expected to rise to around 90 in 2008.

In addition, I recently announced funding of almost €2m for around 30 projects aimed at supporting rehabilitation (€750,000) and addressing cocaine use (€1.2m approx). This follows a call for proposals earlier this year to Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces. The rehabilitation projects will assist recovering drug users to regain their capacity for life so that they can reintegrate back into their families and communities and begin to lead more meaningful lives again.

Under the Premises Initiative Fund, which addresses the accommodation needs of community drugs projects in Task Force areas, nearly €4m has been approved in 2008 for 15 capital projects, a number of which focus on rehabilitation.

Finally, the Deputies will appreciate that the funding in 2009 for drugs initiatives will be decided in the context of the next year's Estimates.