Drug rehab programme to cost €30m
The blueprint, recommended by a Government-appointed expert body, will involve the creation of at least 20 new positions.
The long-awaited report of the Working Group on Drugs Rehabilitation commits Government departments and agencies to implement a series of recommendations.
However, there are some question marks over whether a key recommendation — the doubling of residential detoxification beds — can be implemented in the short term.
The Department of Community Affairs — which operates the National Drugs Strategy — hopes the report’s recommendations will be largely implemented by the end of next year.
While government commitments cannot be made before the formation of a new government, virtually all the political parties, including Fianna Fáil, have made rehabilitation a top priority in the drugs area.
While the number of new heroin users entering treatment has dropped between 1998 and 2005 in Dublin, the number outside Dublin has jumped by almost 500%. The report said this trend posed “major challenges” in terms of treatment and rehabilitation.
The new structure will involve:
National Drug Rehabilitation Implementation Committee, with representatives of Government departments and community and voluntary groups.
A senior rehabilitation coordinator, employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE), will chair the committee
A network of 10 local rehabilitation coordinators across the country
HSE case managers who will ensure each addict’s needs are met
In a key recommendation, the report says: “The range of treatment options for recovering drugs users, particularly counselling and therapeutic services, needs to be expanded.”
Launching the report drugs strategy minister Noel Ahern said implementation of the report would “greatly accelerate” progress already made on rehabilitation.
