449. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1814 of 26 July 2022, if his officials have concluded their consultation with all members of the north inner-city drug and alcohol task force; if a report to identify the next steps has been submitted to him; if he is concerned by the slow pace of progress by his Department in resolving matters first raised by his officials 18 months ago; and the impact of this delay on the normal functioning of the task force. [46658/22]

Minister of State at the Department of Health Frankie Feighan:

The Department of Health is committed to addressing the drug and alcohol issues affecting the north inner city in conjunction with community-based service providers and has provided significant additional resources for drug and alcohol services in the area and wider north Dublin region.

The Department is continuing to work with stakeholders in the north inner city to establish effective, inclusive, and transparent governance of the task force and of the funding that it allocates.

The Department has recently concluded a consultation process with members of the task force and other stakeholders on the next steps. This involved a series of meetings with public representatives, statutory and non statutory members of the task force, frontline community and alcohol projects funded under the ambit of the task force, community and service user representatives, staff employed by the task force company and other stakeholders in the North East Inner City. 

I understand that a report on the consultation process is currently being drawn up to identify the next steps to establish effective, inclusive, and transparent governance of the task force in the north inner city. I look forward to receiving the report in the coming weeks.