The Annual Report provides a comprehensive update on the progress of the commitments in its first year and after three years.

2019 report p.11 Health, includes:

• Enacted the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018.
• Introduction of standardised packaging for sale of cigarettes and tobacco products. 
• €6.5m in additional funding provided for drug and alcohol services.

2018 report p.21 Health, includes:

• Ireland’s new strategy for a health led response to drug and alcohol misuse published

P.50 Irish people are living longer and staying healthier for longer. Life expectancy for men and women in Ireland continues to improve and now stands at 79.6 years for men and 83.4 for women. While progress is being made in addressing health risk factors such as smoking and alcohol, further action is underway to improve healthy lifestyle changes. The Healthy Ireland initiative continues to be implemented across Government to support and encourage people to make healthy choices in their lives. Significant new measures under the Healthy Ireland initiative are underway targeting rising obesity levels, promoting healthy eating and physical activity levels. 

P.51 The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill which aims to contribute to the reduction of the harmful use of alcohol in Ireland has completed all stages in the Seanad and is awaiting a date for Committee Stage in the Dáil.

P. 52 Budget 18 saw an increase in excise duty of 50 cents on a pack of 20 cigarettes, with a pro-rata increase on other tobacco products.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) awarded the Department of Health a prestigious 2017 World No Tobacco Day Award for its achievements in the area of tobacco control. 

Standardised packaging of tobacco came into force in September 2017.

P.55 “Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery – a health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025” was published in July 2017 and aims to provide an integrated public health approach to drug and alcohol use, focused on promoting healthier lifestyles within society.

Actions addressing drug-related intimidation, improving the availability of opioid substitution treatments, operating a Performance Measurement System and increasing the number of drug liaison midwives have been prioritised and resourced for 2018. 

In support of a health-led rather than criminal justice approach to drug use, the HSE awarded the contract for the establishment of a supervised injecting centre in Dublin’s city centre. The service is due to open later this year.

P.100 Funding of €2.5m was provided under the RAPID programme to support the North East Inner City initiative. The Programme Implementation Board with statutory, business and community input began work in July 2017 supported by the local Programme Office. A wide range of measures have been implemented across the key areas of crime and drugs, physical infrastructure, integrating social services and training and education which are set out in its recent 2017 Progress Report available at www.neic.ie. 

[Click here to view progress reports on Department of An Taoiseach website]