Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for Health and Children, further to Parliamentary Question No. 86 of 22 October 2008, the date on which the Health Service Executive re-oriented its addiction services. [37813/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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As the Deputy will be aware any re-orientation of services takes place over a period of time. Existing HSE services are being re-oriented under the HSE's Transformation Programme 2007-2010 and a key aspect of the re-orientation of addiction services is the training and up-skilling of staff to address the needs arising from changing patterns of drug use in the population e.g. poly drug use (including cocaine use), alcohol use and the abuse of prescribed drugs.

In this regard, in mid 2007 the HSE National Working Group on Drugs and Alcohol was instrumental in establishing a National Addiction Training Programme (NATP) as a two year pilot programme. Its purpose is to meet the training needs of staff (voluntary and statutory) within the addiction services — including training in the treatment of cocaine use. Over 800 participants have benefited from this programme.

Phase II of the NATP has a major focus on psychotherapeutic training: it aims to enhance the skills of appropriate staff and clinical supervisors. A total of 38 staff from the statutory and voluntary sectors and from the community availed of this training. A third training module is scheduled for January/February 2009.