Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy publishes report of consultations to inform the development of the successor national drugs strategy
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The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD today published a summary report of stakeholder consultations which will inform the development of the next national drugs strategy.
The series of in-person and online consultations involved 241 people including members of the national drugs strategy’s National Oversight Committee and Strategic Implementation Groups, the Drug and Alcohol Task Forces, Health Service Executive (HSE) Addiction Managers, individuals and families with lived and living experience, civil society representatives and service providers, along with prevention and education stakeholders.
These consultations were designed to identify learnings from the current national drugs strategy and to collect insights to help shape the successor strategy, ensuring that it is reflective of and responsive to the needs of those with direct and indirect experience of problematic drug and alcohol use.
The consultation report will inform the work of the Steering Group overseeing the development of the successor national drugs strategy, and the associated Reference Group. Minister Murnane O’Connor expects to consider a draft of the successor national drugs strategy by the end of 2025 and to publish the strategy early in 2026 subject to Government approval.
The consultation report, prepared by independent facilitators, complements the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use and the separate independent evaluation of the existing national drugs strategy.
Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
“As Minister with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, I want to thank all who gave their time to contribute to this process.
My priority is to deliver a new national drugs strategy that is robust, future-proof and effective. In particular, I want people throughout the country to be able to access timely, quality care through the continued expansion of drug services across all health regions.
“In order to achieve this, we are listening to and learning from those with direct experience of drug use, including family members, in line with Recommendation 10 of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use.
“I am committed to an open, constructive and transparent process and in publishing this report I want to reassure all who participated that their voices have been heard and their views are being considered.”
The consultations covered a range of themes including the strategic priorities for the new strategy, the planning and delivery of drug services in the HSE health regions, the lived and living experience of people who use drugs and their families, the development of the drugs workforce, and drug prevention.
Several areas of progress under the current strategy were highlighted, including the increase in bed numbers in residential centres and the positive role of the drugs workforce, who are viewed as client-focused, experienced and skilled, with strong HSE clinical governance. The operationalisation of Ireland’s first medically supervised injecting facility was also praised, along with the work on emerging drug trends.
Participants were also positive about increased levels of engagement with people who use drug treatment services, and those with lived experience, as part of the current strategy, but highlighted the need for stronger engagement with community-based service providers in order to build local knowledge about new and emerging drug use trends.
Areas of concern included a perceived insufficient focus on prevention and a lack of appropriately-skilled prevention workers in each Task Force to deliver prevention initiatives. Participants also highlighted gaps in services in certain areas, financial barriers to accessing some treatment centres and clinics, long waiting lists, as well as gaps in services for children and young people.
In considering the requirements under the successor strategy, participants highlighted the need for those with lived and living experience to be involved in both its development and its implementation and called for a national framework to support this involvement. The report also includes recommendations for an increased focus on prevention, enhanced services and supports for young people and their parents, increased digitalisation of services and an increased focus on alcohol.
The summary report will also be sent by Minister Murnane O’Connor to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Drugs Use.
Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
“The landscape of drug use is ever changing, and can vary considerably from region to region.
“The issues highlighted in this report reflect the complexity of the challenge we face in communities all over the country, but they also highlight the opportunities we can create when we collaborate and learn from experience. I look forward to developing the successor strategy to reduce the impact of drugs across our society.”
Notes
The summary report is available here.
The development of the new national drugs strategy, and a two-year action plan to support its delivery, is being overseen by a Steering Group led by independent chair Dr Sarah Morton. The group’s membership is drawn from civil society, including those with lived experience, government departments, the HSE, the Health Research Board (HRB), along with international experts.
The Steering Group is being supported by a Reference Group, which will provide real-world knowledge and lived experience of drug use and provide guidance and recommendations while the new strategy is being drafted. The Reference Group brings together people from frontline drug and alcohol services community and voluntary organisations, including representatives of frontline services from all over the country, to share ideas, experiences, and advice to help shape a new drugs strategy to better address the harms arising from both drug use, and problematic alcohol use. These include voices from people with lived or living experience of drug use as well as individuals who have had contact with the criminal justice system, and representatives from marginalised groups including Travellers and migrants.