The bureaucratic obsession with management objectives is undermining efforts to combat drug misuse, according to the head of the Southern Regional Drug Task Force.

Chairman Peadar King said this zeal has spawned its own "management speak", peppered with words such as "organisational outputs, performance indicators, service users", etc.

He made the comments in the task force’s report for 2011, which said alcohol, cannabis, and benzodiazepines were the "major presenting issues" last year.

The report warned of emerging issues during the year, including oxycontin, a prescription painkiller, in Killarney, and a rise in the use of "powders" in Tralee. The report also found a rise in the use of illegal drugs, namely cannabis, as well as anti-depressants....