The Drug Treatment Court (DTC) was established on a pilot basis in 2001. It was initially evaluated in 2002 and a further short review was carried out in 2005. The court was placed on a permanent footing in 2006 as recommended in the 2005 review. The Agreed Programme for Government 2007-2012 contained a commitment to expand the court. However, in the light of concerns regarding the numbers being served by the court, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform directed that prior to any expansion a further review should be undertaken in order to evaluate its continued effectiveness. The object of the review is to identify the reasons behind the low number of referrals and examine how increased throughput could be achieved.