At the time of writing (September 2025) a new national drugs strategy is being developed. In the meantime, Ireland’s most recent national drugs strategy is titled Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery: A health-led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025. It was launched in July 2017 (Department of Health 2017), and is the strategy described in this report. The strategy is structured around cross-cutting goals and emphasises a health-led approach to addressing the drugs situation in Ireland (Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs 2009). It is the first integrated drug and alcohol strategy in Ireland. It defines substance misuse as “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, illegal drugs and the abuse of prescription medicines” (Department of Health 2017) (p. 7).

The strategy set out to cover an 8-year period (2017–2025) and was accompanied by a shorter-term action plan (2017–2020) (Department of Health 2017). Following a mid-term review of the strategy, six strategic priorities were identified for the remainder of its lifetime (2022–2025), and accompanying actions were identified in a strategic action plan for 2023–2024 titled National Drugs Strategy Strategic Action Plan 2023-2024 (Department of Health 2023).

The strategy’s vision is for “a healthier and safer Ireland, where public health and safety is protected and the harms caused to individuals, families and communities by substance misuse are reduced and every person affected by substance use is empowered to improve their health and wellbeing and quality of life” (Department of Health 2017) (p. 8).

The strategy’s five strategic goals are to:

1. Promote and protect health and well-being
2. Minimise the harms caused by the use and misuse of substances and promote rehabilitation and recovery
3. Address the harms of drug markets and reduce access to drugs for harmful use
4. Support participation of individuals, families and communities, and
5. Develop sound and comprehensive evidence-informed policies and actions.

A final substantive chapter of the strategy focuses on what is termed “strengthening the performance of the strategy” (Department of Health 2017) (p. 73). There are two key elements to this: performance measurement, and the structures supporting the implementation of the strategy.

Government Departments with responsibility for implementing various actions in the strategy and the National Drugs Strategy Strategic Action Plan 2023-2024 (Department of Health 2023) include: Health (overall responsibility); Education and Youth; Children, Disability, and Equality; Social Protection; Housing, Local Government and Heritage; Justice, Home Affairs and Migration; and Transport.