Groups call for halt on proposal to 'get community sector out' of drugs task force

CityWide coordinator Anna Quigley said: “If this is allowed to go ahead this Friday it brings down the curtain on the inter-agency partnership approach that has been at the heart of our national drugs strategy since 1996." File photo: Maura Hickey

An umbrella group for community drug organisations has said Department of Health plans will remove their representation on a powerful steering group responsible for implementing the National Drugs Strategy (NDS).

The CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign told the Oireachtas Health Committee that the department intends to make the change this Friday, at the next meeting of the NDS National Oversight Committee (NOC).