Budget 2023 Measures for National Drugs Strategy & Inclusion Health

Total additional funding of €10.5m in 2023:

• €4m to expand community and residential addiction services;
• €3m to improve access to healthcare services for Travellers, people who are homeless and refugees;
• €3.5m to maintain existing level of service for community & voluntary organisations providing drug & alcohol and inclusion health services.

In Budget 2023, Minister Frank Feighan secured an additional €7m for new developments. The funding will be used to expand HSE healthcare services and to support community & voluntary organisations to improve access to health and social care services. The main funding allocations are set out below.

• €900,000 to ensure sustainability and to increase capacity of residential treatment services
• €850,000 to expand integrated care pathways for high-risk drug andalcohol users, including gender-specific services
• €1m to strengthen monitoring of emerging drug trends & to expandcommunity-based services as part of the community services enhancement fund. €750,000 to mitigate the impact of drugs & alcohol on children, families& communities
• €1m to expand Traveller health units and other Traveller-specific services, under the forthcoming Traveller health action plan (a further€300,000 is provided for Traveller mental health by Minister Butler)
• €1.3m to provide wrap around health supports for long-termhomelessunder Housing First, in line with the Housing for All plan. €700,000 to increase access to healthcare services for refugees, inlinewith the HSE Intercultural Health Strategy.

Key outputs from the new funding

• Increase in numbers accessing drug and alcohol services across all regions better supports for children and families affected by parental drug and alcohol use
• More women and men in recovery from addiction
• Reduction in drug-related harms, overdoses and drug-related deaths additional 269 Housing First tenancies receiving intensive health supports
• Better treatment for chronic physical health conditions amongst Travellers more refugees accessing culturally appropriate healthcare services