Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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484. To ask the Minister for Health if the number of opiate users in County Dublin has decreased over the lifetime of the national drugs strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16067/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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The HSE maintains the Central Treatment List, which is a register of all clients in receipt of methadone maintenance treatment for problem opiate use in Ireland. However, the information sought by the Deputy is not available as only individuals who come into contact with drug treatment services are recorded.

Obtaining a reliable view of the extent of illicit drug use in the population can be difficult, because opiate users in particular are largely a hidden population due to the illegal nature of their activity. There is currently no up-to-date estimate of the prevalence of opiate users in Ireland. However, the Deputy may wish to note that the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol plans to release results of its research to estimate the prevalence of opiate use in Ireland before the end of the year. This report will provide an estimate for 2014.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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485. To ask the Minister for Health if there has been a reduction in the number of persons engaged in poly-drug use or in the level of drug misuse reported by school students, as targeted in the national drugs strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16068/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Government's response to the problem of drug misuse in our society is set out in the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016. The overall objective of the National Drugs 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.

The nature and scale of drug misuse has changed in recent years, with an increased prevalence of polydrug use which is the problem use of more than one drug, including alcohol. Polydrug use can make treating the person more difficult and often increases the complexity of the case. It can also make the treatment of overdose more complicated. Health Research Board figures indicate that polydrug use is a common issue among those presenting at drug and alcohol treatment services. Between 2009 and 2013, 63% of those treated for a drug as their main problem substance also reported problem use of other substances, mainly alcohol, benzodiazepines and cannabis. Figures from the Health Research Board for recent years also indicate that the number of polydrug deaths has overtaken the number of single drug deaths. This highlights the need to have an integrated public health approach to substance misuse.

The 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD), which contains data on substance use among 15-16 year old students, confirms that there was no change in lifetime use of cannabis among Irish students and a decrease in the lifetime use of other illicit drugs between 2007 and 2011. The 2015 wave of the survey, which will also feature data on Irish students, will be published in September 2016.

The Department of Health is developing a new National Drugs Strategy, which will cover the period from 2017 onwards. A Steering Committee has been established to advise me on how the new Strategy should address problem drug use, including the structures through which this could be done, and incorporating performance indicators to measure the future effectiveness of the new Strategy.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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486. To ask the Minister for Health if 100% of problem drug users are accessing treatment services within one month of assessment, as targeted in the national drugs strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16069/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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487. To ask the Minister for Health if 100% of problem drug users under 18 years of age are accessing treatment services within one week of assessment, as targeted in the national drugs stategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16070/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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488. To ask the Minister for Health whether there has been a 25% increase in residential rehabilitation places based on 2008 figures, as targeted in the national drugs strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16071/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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489. To ask the Minister for Health whether there has been a 25% increase in hepatitis C cases among drug users based on 2008 figures, as targeted in the national drugs strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16072/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 486 to 489, 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 replies from the HSE within 15 working days he should contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Health to set down how many of the targets or stated aims the national drugs strategy has met and not met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16073/16]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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491. To ask the Minister for Health if the national drugs strategy 2009-16 has been successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16074/16]

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 490 and 491 together.

The overall objective of the National Drugs 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. Periodic reviews of progress of the actions across the five pillars of the current Strategy are carried out through the Oversight Forum on Drugs, which I chair. The 2015 progress report on the implementation of the actions of the National Drugs Strategy is available on the Department's website at .

As the Deputy will be aware, a Steering Committee has been established to advise me on the development of a new National Drugs Strategy, which will take effect in 2017 when the current policy expires. A high level review of the current Strategy has been undertaken by a panel of international experts as part of this process. The aim of the review is to examine the progress and impact of the Strategy across the five pillars in the context of the objectives, key performance indicators and actions set out in the Strategy and to comment on Ireland’s evolution in tackling the drug problem in the light of international trends.

The final report of the expert panel, which is expected shortly, will assist the Steering Committee in determining how the new Strategy should address problem drug use to meet the challenges ahead.