Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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760. To ask the Minister for Health the number of methadone users here during each year since 2012. [13550/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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761. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons who entered drug treatment during each year since 2012. [13551/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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762. To ask the Minister for Health for details on the availability of naloxone to at-risk injecting drug users here. [13552/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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763. To ask the Minister for Health The details of family-based treatments available for adolescent drug users. [13553/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 760 to 763, inclusive, together.

As these are service matters, they have been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days he should contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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764. To ask the Minister for Health his Department’s guidelines on urine testing for methadone users; his plans to end this practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13554/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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The introduction of the Opioid Treatment Protocol (Farrell and Barry, 2010) is the first external review of the Methadone Treatment Protocol in Ireland, examining the regulatory process and oversight of methadone and opiate dependence treatment, focusing on both the 1998 protocol and the processes by which treatment is implemented and delivered. It recognised the importance of the role of testing in determining compliance with the consumption of the prescribed medication, particularly when this is within a wider clinical assessment, with a broader care plan and focus on clinical progress on a number of dimensions.

The review recommends significantly reducing the frequency of testing, applying it on a more random basis and shifting some of the resource currently expended on organising urine testing into more key working and other related activities.

As recommended in the review, the HSE has convened a group comprising of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, HSE Addiction Services Managers and the National Social Inclusion Office to develop a comprehensive set of clinical guidelines on the treatment of opioid addiction.

Final draft Guidelines were submitted to the HSE Quality Improvement Division on the 10 March and are awaiting final approval and clearance prior to implementation.