Drugs a 'social justice' issue, not just a health one, families tell officials

Mon, 06 Apr, 2026 - 20:02

Cormac O’Keeffe

The new national drugs strategy must “explicitly recognise” the connection between the harms caused by drugs and the poverty, inequality and violence in certain communities, a family organisation has said.

Family Addiction Recovery Ireland (FARI) said the draft National Drugs Strategy 2026-2029 — which has been put out for public consultation — “excluded” those communities and those families most affected by drugs and the drugs trade.

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FARI said drugs was not solely a health issue but also a “social justice issue”, rooted in “poverty, inequality, community violence and lack of opportunity”.

It said communities most affected must be treated as “equal partners” in addressing local drug problems.

In their submission to the draft strategy, being co-ordinated by the Department of Health, FARI said: “The aim of National Drugs Strategy 2026–2029 cannot be realised without the meaningful inclusion of the families and communities most affected by drug-related harms.

“Their exclusion from the design of the strategy undermines its legitimacy, accuracy and effectiveness, and risks producing policies that do not reflect the realities on the ground," it said.

"The trauma experienced by families is not solely a health issue but a social justice issue rooted in poverty, inequality, exclusion and systemic failure.”

It said that a “credible” strategy must recognise the experience of those on the ground, including in relation to “intimidation, violence and community harm”.

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FARI said the strategy must “explicitly” recognise the well-established link between poverty, inequality and drug-related harms. It said that anything less would mean that the strategy would be “disconnected” from the real world.

FARI said the strategy was “focusing solely on individual behaviour” and not looking at structural issues.

The group said the strategy does not recognise the “chronic underinvestment” in family support and community drug projects. It said these projects need “sustainable, multi-annual funding” to operate effectively.

“Families and communities are best placed to support implementation because they hold the deepest understanding of the realities of drug-related harm, including intimidation, trauma and social exclusion,” FARI said.

The organisation also highlighted the lack of proper data on the experiences of families — saying that, without this, state policy “cannot accurately reflect the scale and nature of harm”.