Single agency set to oversee drugs strategy

A NEW national agency is to be set up to spearhead the country’s drugs strategy, it has emerged.

The government’s drugs strategy minister also said that a “more aggressive” programme would be put in place to wean the growing number of heroin addicts on methadone — now standing at 8,600 — off the substitution drug.

However, Junior Minister John Curran was not in a position to say whether or not alcohol would be included in the new drugs strategy, due to be published in April.

Mr Curran told an Oireachtas Committee yesterday he wanted to set up a single body to replace the layers of bureaucracy currently setting and implementing the drugs strategy. He said the current situation — with at least three different agencies or committees involved — was “all over the place”.

Mr Curran said at the moment there was the Drugs Strategy Unit in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Inter-Departmental Group on Drugs and the National Drugs Strategy Team. Mr Curran did, however, reassure the community and voluntary sectors that they would be part of the new agency.

“We need a more unified approach. The system that has evolved is too fragmented. I’m looking at establishing... one single entity.” Responding to concerns expressed by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Mr Curran said it was not a case of the department “taking over”.

Mr Curran told the committee the steering group for the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016 would report to him by the end of March. He said the steering group was also examining the effectiveness of the 14 local drug task forces and the ten regional drug task forces. Several committee members said the task forces, and the groups they fund, were concerned about their budgets.

Labour’s Catherine Byrne said some groups were having their budgets cut by up to e40,000.

Mr Curran said he shared the concerns of several committee members at the failure to wean heroin addicts who are on methadone off the substitution drug. He said the new strategy would be looking at this issue.

All committee members called for alcohol to be included in the next strategy.