Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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358. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the creation of a separate Minister of State portfolio with responsibility for drugs and alcohol addiction for the remainder of the Government’s term of office, in view of the seriousness of this problem and the number of lives lost due to addiction. [40073/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Health, I have overall responsibility for the implementation of the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016. The overall objective of the Strategy is to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on the five pillars of supply, reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research. In line with the Programme for Government, I am committed to delivering on the objectives in the Strategy and the Oversight Forum on Drugs which I chair. This is the key mechanism through which the implementation of the Strategy is coordinated at local, regional and national levels.

In addition, I am responsible for implementing the recommendations of the Steering Group Report on a National Substance Misuse Strategy, 2012 in accordance with last October's Government decision.

My Department is commencing work on developing the National Drugs Strategy in order to meet future challenges in relation to the problem of substance misuse.