27.  Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs  the types of programmes which have been initiated by the regional drugs task forces in 2006; the projects developed by these task forces in 2006 and their location; [36906/06]

Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Mr. N. Ahern): Ten Regional Drugs Task Forces (RDTFs) have been established to include all parts of the country not covered by a Local Drugs Task Force, thus achieving full coverage of the country. The RDTFs are charged with researching, developing, implementing and monitoring a co-ordinated response to illicit drug use at regional level. Each Task Force has an independent Chairperson and is made up of representatives from the various Departments and agencies, as well as the community and voluntary sectors. The RDTFs produced strategic plans for their respective regions, having regard to evidence available on the extent and specific location of illicit drug use in the region. An initial total allocation of €5m has been approved in 2006 to the ten RDTFs to commence implementation of their plans. It is envisaged that funding will be increased on an incremental basis to achieve the full roll-out of the RDTF plans currently estimated to cost around €12.2m on an annual basis. Meanwhile, nine of the ten RDTFs now have full-time co-ordinators in place and the rate of progress is increasing. The National Drug Strategy Team has been working closely with the RDTFs to get their programmes up and running. A total of 68 projects have been initiated in 2006. It is envisaged that around 80 projects will be in progress by the end of the year. The projects involved range from prevention initiatives and work with youth to treatment services and outreach work.