Drugs strategy at stake as McCabe resigns

IMPLEMENTATION of the Government’s national drugs strategy is being threatened by the actions of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health, it was claimed yesterday.

The chairman of the National Drugs Strategy Team (NDST) subcommittee on the Local Drug Task Forces (LDTFs), Fergus McCabe, said he resigned after repeatedly raising the lack of a representative with the HSE.

“This continued on for far too long a period. I signalled I wasn’t happy again and again, and then I set a deadline for my resignation unless they responded. There was no response.”

He said he realised the HSE was a new body, but said it still had the same people. “I couldn’t do the job as chair because the HSE, one of the most important players in the work of LDTFs, was missing and it was affecting the work of the sub-group.”

The Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, Noel Ahern, has expressed his concern at how this was affecting the strategy’s implementation.

Sources also confirmed yesterday that the Department of Health itself wants to end its role in the NDST, citing the establishment of the HSE.

“This is hugely serious and adds up to the health authorities looking at the national drug strategy structures and giving the message that they are not really committed to them,” said Anna Quigley of the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign (CDCC).

“First, the Department of Health is indicating it wants to come off the NDST, saying that since the HSE can be on it there is no need for them. Now, that’s rubbish, because the department is responsible for policy.”

She said the failure of the HSE to replace its representative on the NDST suggested it was “pulling back” from the structure.

She said the HSE was also indicating it wanted to end its administrative function in coordinating the recently established Regional Drug Task Forces.

A spokesperson for Mr Ahern said they were aware of the problem and that the department was in contact with the Department of Health and the HSE.

“Both the department and Minister of State are concerned about it in terms of rolling out the actions in the national drugs strategy,” she said.

A HSE spokeswoman said there was “no question” of it discontinuing its participation in the NDST.

She said its representative had been appointed to another agency and that they had advertised the post.