Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Minister for Health if he will make additional funding available to the South Western Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force given the proposal from Athy Community Addiction Response in County Kildare, which has requested such funding from the task force but which has been declined on the basis of there being no more available from its 2016 allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40825/15]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour)
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In line with the National Drugs Strategy, the Government is committed to continuing support for initiatives to tackle the drug problem. Drug and Alcohol Task Forces play a key role in assessing the extent and nature of the drug problem in their areas and coordinating action at local level, so that there is a targeted response to the problem of substance misuse in local communities.

Every effort has been made to protect the budgets of Drug and Alcohol Task Forces in recent years. In 2015 the overall allocation of the South West Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force was €799,317 of which €102,820 was provided from the Drugs Initiative of the Department of Health and €696,497 from the Health Service Executive. This was the same overall level of funding allocated in 2014.

The South West Regional Drug and Alcohol Task Force will be advised shortly of their allocations for 2016. It is a matter for each Task Force to ensure that the budget is effectively deployed to address current priorities and locally identified needs.