Home > New priorities for the British–Irish Council.

Dillon, Lucy (2021) New priorities for the British–Irish Council. Drugnet Ireland, Issue 78, Summer 2021, pp. 8-9.

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On 11 March 2021, a ministerial meeting of the Misuse of Substances work sector of the British–Irish Council (BIC) was held online. The Irish Government is the lead administration for this strand of work. The meeting was chaired by Frank Feighan TD, Minister of State for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy. The meeting was also attended by ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, and the British Government.1

British–Irish Council

As described in issue 72 of Drugnet Ireland,2 BIC was established in 1999 as part of the Good Friday Agreement in order to further promote positive, practical relationships among the people of the islands as well as to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation. The formal purpose of BIC,3 as outlined in Strand 3 of the Agreement, is as follows:

To promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands... The BIC will exchange information, discuss, consult and use best endeavours to reach agreement on co-operation on matters of mutual interest within the competence of the relevant Administrations.4

Items covered and actions agreed

The communiqué published following the meeting lacks detail on the content of the discussions but notes that the ministers discussed two key topics:

  • Financial mechanisms to reduce the consumption of alcohol: Ministers described the efforts of member administrations to decrease alcohol consumption and agreed that there was value in comparing approaches and sharing learnings from the emerging evidence base. 
  • Measure the effectiveness of addiction services and harm reduction strategies: The importance of effective monitoring and evaluation to ensure evidence-based policymaking and practice was recognised. It was agreed that sharing this diversity of knowledge, understanding, experiences, and learning across member administrations affords a unique resource for enhancing monitoring and evaluation. 

Five topics were agreed as priorities for the group’s work moving forward:

  • Consider the lessons of Covid-19 and the delivery of drug and alcohol services.
  • Reduce the risk of drug-related deaths.
  • Reduce alcohol-related harms through the use of financial mechanisms.
  • Consider joined-up approaches to meeting the health and social needs of people who are homeless and use drugs and alcohol (in conjunction with the BIC Housing work sector).
  • Engage with the voluntary and community sectors to consider their role in the provision of drug and alcohol services, and in the development and monitoring of policy.

No further detail was available on what this work would entail.

1   British–Irish Council (2021) Ministerial meeting of the Misuse of Substances work sector: 11 March 2021 communiqué. Edinburgh: British–Irish Council. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/33916/

2   Dillon L (2020) British–Irish Council in Dublin. Drugnet Ireland, 72 (Winter): 5.
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/31712/

3   Further details on the work of BIC is available from its website: https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/

4   A copy of the Good Friday Agreement is available at: https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/alldfawebsitemedia/ourrolesandpolicies/northernireland/good-friday-agreement.pdf

Item Type
Article
Publication Type
Irish-related, International
Drug Type
Alcohol, All substances
Intervention Type
Policy
Issue Title
Issue 78, Summer 2021
Date
August 2021
Page Range
pp. 8-9
Publisher
Health Research Board
Volume
Issue 78, Summer 2021
EndNote

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