Almost €700,000 allocated for delayed drug treatment programme

The new programme will see people caught with drugs for personal use for the first time referred for health interventions

For those caught a second time, garda discretion will apply in relation to a second diversion, while those found a third time would be prosecuted and could receive a criminal conviction. File photo

Almost €700,000 is being provided for the delayed implementation next year of a landmark shift in the legal approach to people found in possession of drugs for personal use.

Under a new diversion system, announced in August 2019 by the then-government, people caught by gardaí in possession of drugs for personal use for the first time will be referred for a health intervention.