Crack cocaine: Drugs task forces 'firefighting' due to lack of funds

Minister's press release contains 'no new information' and does not commit additional funding to tackle the crisis

'The two projects are firefighting. They are being inundated and working on the shoestring of €25,000 each,' said Grace Hill (right), Tallaght Drug & Alcohol Task Force co-ordinator. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

A drugs task force which has highlighted a crack cocaine “emergency” in its area has said that none of additional funding it requested from the Government has been provided.

It follows a press release from drugs strategy minister Frank Feighan detailing the funding being allocated to two projects providing crack cocaine programmes in Tallaght, south Dublin.

Last November, the Tallaght Drugs and Alcohol Task Force published a report exposing the scale of the crack problem in the area and the absence of dedicated funding for two local projects attempting to respond to the crisis.

The task force said dedicated annual funding of €190,000 was needed for proper, full-time crack services in Killinarden Community Addiction Response Programme (CARP) and in Jobstown Assisting Drug Dependency (JADD).

Task force chair Grace Hill said it managed to give each project €25,000 last year out of discretionary money it had, but said they needed proper designated funding. Their report, which received extensive publicity, was followed by a hearing before the Oireachtas health committee in early December, where Ms Hill and Shane Hamilton of JADD told members of the funding crisis facing the projects in 2022 unless additional money was forthcoming.

Two drugs projects 'will receive a combined annual funding of €530,000 in 2022', stated Frank Feighan, the Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and National Drugs Strategy. Picture: Keith Arkins Media

A press release issued by the Department of Health said Mr Feighan welcomed confirmation that JADD and CARP were “continuing to provide services, including crack cocaine services”.

It said HSE addiction services fund both projects under a total allocation for community drug projects in Tallaght of €2m per annum, it said: 

JADD receives annual funding of €364,000, including an additional €70,000 since August 2021 to support clients attending HSE methadone treatment services.

“CARP receives annual funding of €170,000, including an additional €20,000 since quarter 4 of 2021 to provide services for women who use crack cocaine.”

Mr Feighan added: “The HSE have confirmed these two projects will receive a combined annual funding of €530,000 in 2022.

“This includes an additional €90,000 provided in quarter 4 of 2021 to support an expansion of services. The HSE will consider further requests for funding as part of service-level agreement reviews in 2022.”

Ms Hill said there was “no new information” in the release in relation to dedicated funds for the crack projects in Tallaght.

The press release is accurate in that the two projects are funded, but has any additional funding been provided for crack cocaine issue? No. 

She said the projects had no dedicated funding for this year, and that the task force has yet to decide if it can allocate €50,000 from discretionary funding.

“Where’s the emergency?” Ms Hill asked. “There is no urgency here from the Government. The two projects are firefighting. They are being inundated and working on the shoestring of €25,000 each we were giving them. That is not a full-time sustainable service. The minister needs to allocate sufficient resources.” She added: 

What really disappoints us is that, since we launched the report on November 8, not one person from the department or the minister himself has been in touch with us about the findings of that research. 

Mr Feighan is due before the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday January 19 on this and other issues.