Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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344. To ask the Minister for Health if he will facilitate the appointment of the new chairperson of the North Inner City Drug and Alcohol Taskforce as agreed by consensus at the taskforce minuted meeting of 16 March 2021, in full adherence to the Local and Regional Drugs Task Forces Handbook. [45860/21]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Drug and Alcohol Task Forces play a key role in the implementation of the national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery 2017-2015. To improve accountability across the statutory, community and voluntary sectors and to strengthen the task force model, task forces are required have proper arrangements in place for the selection and renewal of the chairperson and members of the task forces and have proper procedures in place for addressing conflicts of interest.

The North Inner City Drug and Alcohol Task Force has an annual allocation of €2.2 million in funds from the Department of Health. The Department has worked very cooperatively with the task force in recent years to enhance its contribution to the North East Inner City Initiative.

I support the autonomy of the task force to appoint its chairperson and believe the collective membership is the appropriate entity to appoint a chairperson, on a consensual basis. I have made known my concerns about the procedures for the selection and appointment of a new chairperson to the membership. The membership should have the opportunity to consider these concerns and to decide how it wishes to proceed on the appointment of a chairperson.

I have written to the outgoing chair asking him to engage with all members of the task force - community, voluntary and statutory – to consider this matter and have requested an update on his engagement with members as soon as is possible.