467. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Health his views on the impact of two European countries' drug policies (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2801/15]

Minister for Health (Deputy Leo Varadkar): The overall objective of the National Drugs Strategy is to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs through a concerted focus on the five pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research.

My Department is represented on a number of international fora which aim to help the overall efforts to address the drugs problem, particularly in the EU, but also globally. Through involvement in such international cooperation activities, my Department accesses information on the initiatives taken in other countries with the aim of applying potentially effective ideas to our problems in this country.

As the Deputy may be aware, my Department will shortly begin work on developing a new National Drugs Strategy so that it can meet the challenges into the future. The overall approach to the development of the Strategy will be considered by the Oversight Forum on Drugs, which I chair, at its next meeting on 29 January. It is envisaged that the different international approaches to drugs policy will be examined in the context of this work, as well as research, information and data on the extent and nature of problem drug use in Ireland.