Ireland’s drug strategy is “not working” and Government take a more urgent approach to reforming our laws.

Today, the Oireachtas Committee on Drug Use will meet with civil servants from the HSE and Departments of Justice and Health to discuss implemnation of the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use. 

The Citizens' Assembly published its report in January and called for enhanced funding to deal with drug use in society, as well as a greater focus on marginalised communities. 

It also suggested the Department of Health publish a draft health strategy by June - something that will instead be released in the first half of 2025. 

Fine Gael’s Senator Mary Seery Kearney, who chairs the Committee, said she understands why people feel the Government needs to do more on this issue. 

“I can completely understand that,” she told Breakfast Briefing. 

“I’m Chair of the Drugs task force myself, so every month when we have meetings, I hear the on the ground necessity, the urgency. 

“But what we’re doing is changing a whole mindset here; this needs to be a whole of Government approach. 

“So, that means the Department of Children need to be on board because they govern youth work, the budget on matters like that, on youth intervention and assisting children to not be led down a pathway of getting into criminality and consequently then acting in the whole drugs area.”

Senator Seery Kearney described the drugs unit within the Department of Health as having a “very small voice” when it comes to budget negotiations and said it needs more prominence within Government. 

“In pressing on Government that this is a whole of Government approach, one of the recommendations was to have a special unit in the Taoiseach’s office,” she said. 

“I’ve been advocating for that for a long time.” 

National Drugs Strategy

Today, the Committee will meet with officials from the HSE and the Departments of Health and Justice. 

Senator Seery Kearney said the Committee is “mindful” that a new National Drugs Strategy is due to be published by the Department of Health and they want to “enhance it” rather than duplicate it. 

“So, what we don’t want to do is spend nine months on the Drugs Committee doing what they’ve already done,” she said. 

“We want to do something new and innovative.” 

Lines of cocaine being divided. Image: Riccardo Ceccherini / Alamy Stock Photo

One of the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly is that the State should change from treating drug use as a criminal justice matter to one that is dealt with through a “comprehensive health-led response”. 

It is something that Senator Seery Kearney believes will make a real difference. 

“[We need to] ensure that we don’t put young people in disadvantaged communities into the prison system,” she said. 

“Actually, we need to put them in youth diversion programmes, actually we need to enhance their education, we need to tackle poverty. 

“So, the decriminalisation of the individual is maybe being overhyped - that is one element. 

“It’s not that they go without any action, it is that we want them to have a more strategic action that is in their benefit rather than just criminalisation and saying, ‘That’s it, you’ve been bold and you’re going to prison, that’s the end of it.’”

Main image: A man prepares heroin. Picture by: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck