Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery, sets out government policy on drug and alcohol use for the period 2017 to 2025. The strategy provides an integrated health-led approach to drug and alcohol use, focused on reducing the harms for individuals, families and communities and promoting rehabilitation and recovery.

The vision of Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery is for a healthier and safer Ireland. Reducing the harms caused to individuals, families and communities by substance use is a core goal of the Strategy. Ensuring that every person is empowered to improve their health and wellbeing and quality of life is a further important goal. The vision highlights the importance of empowering people at the individual level and building strong communities for health and wellbeing.

To support and empower communities facing poverty and deprivation, work is being done on a number of programs and initiatives in my Department, such as the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the Place-based Leadership Programme, the Community Development Pilot Programme, and the Empowering Communities Programme. My officials also have regular engagement with the Department of Health regarding the National Drugs Strategy. My Department is represented on and provides the secretariat to, Strategic Implementation Group 4, which comprises sectoral, agency and Departmental officials.

In order to ensure the combined involvement of the statutory, community, and volunteer sectors to deliver a coordinated response to drug and alcohol use in Irish society, the National Drugs Strategy is key to the work that my Department does in these areas.

My Department has two main goals within the National Drugs Strategy, which relate to providing community supports in collaboration with schools and other youth programmes, and improving the life chances of those that are marginalised in society. We continue to progress both goals in collaboration with communities and stakeholders.