Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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2454.To ask the Minister for Health the plans to implement the citizens assembly recommendation for a joint report on an annual basis detailing total and disaggregated expenditure and channels of funding provided for drug-related services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33046/24]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s strategic response to addressing drug and alcohol problems in Ireland is set out in our national drugs strategy ‘Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery – a health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025’. This Strategy promotes a healthier and safer Ireland, where public health and safety is protected, and the harms caused to individuals, families and communities through substance misuse are reduced.

The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use was established by the Oireachtas in February 2023 to consider, and make recommendations on, legislative, policy and operational changes the State could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider society.

The assembly concluded its deliberations in October 2023. The assembly’s report has made 36 recommendations, which span a wide range of issues related to drug use in Ireland.

A Special Committee of Dáil éireann and Seanad éireann, the Joint Committee on Drugs Use, has been established to discuss the report of the Citizen Assembly on Drug Use and its recommendations. Following the conclusion of the work of the Joint Committee on Drugs Use, the Government will set out its response to the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.

It is proposed to prepare a first draft of the new national drugs strategy in Q1 2025, informed by an evaluation of the current strategic action plan, the Government response to the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly, and the 800 submissions made to the Citizens Assembly. This timeframe will also allow consideration of the deliberations of the Joint Committee.

I welcome the comprehensive report from the Citizens Assembly on Drugs Use, which further develops the health led approach to drugs use. I acknowledge that full implementation of the recommendations of the Citizens Assembly will require a major step-change in how the State responds to drug use.