In 2022, the Government allocated €7.5 million to the Initiative, our highest annual budget received to date. This funding allowed us to continue to achieve the goals set out in the Strategic Plan 2020-2022 and in the Mulvey Report - Creating a Brighter Future. In 2022 we took the decision to extend the Strategic Plan by a further year in light of the difficulties experienced during the pandemic. Inside this report you will find details of the projects, initiatives and pilot programmes we funded in 2022, alongside physical improvements to the area including capital works and the ongoing greening of the NEIC.

Programme Implementation Board - The NEIC Programme Implementation Board (PIB) meets every month and comprises the key Government departments and agencies that have statutory responsibility for delivery of services alongside community and business representatives. The minutes of all PIB meetings are made available on the Initiative’s website at: http://www.neic.ie/publications. The PIB has established six sub groups reflecting the priority areas for action from the Mulvey Report and the NEIC Strategic Plan 2020-2022. The sub groups also have representation from the community and business sectors. One sub group is Substance Use, Misuse and Inclusion Health Chaired by Jim Walsh, Department of Health. This Subgroup works to improve health outcomes for people who use and misuse drugs and alcohol; and promote inclusion health for socially excluded groups experiencing severe health inequalities.

P.16 Community Safety and Engagement - Operation Cribbage
Throughout 2022, Operation Cribbage continued to target drug dealing, criminality and anti-social behaviour in the Railway Street / Liberty Park area. This has created a significant displacement and reduction in reports of criminality and anti-social behaviour from local residents in the area. Feedback from local community representatives has been positive and ensures that the operation remains responsive to the needs of the local community and publicly elected representatives. 

Drug Related Intimidation - Drug related intimidation, and indeed intimidation in general, are issues which are being addressed as a priority for the NEIC’s Enhanced Policing Subgroup. The issue of intimidation can and will be addressed but community leadership is required and the need for community and all other organisations including our public representatives to work with An Garda Síochána cannot be over emphasised. The Gardaí will support anyone who comes forward and will ensure all avenues open to An Garda Síochána are explored and utilised. Confidentiality is guaranteed to any persons willing to come forward and report such intimidation at (01) 6668000 or dmrnorthcentral.dri@garda.ie. 

P.50 Inclusion Health and Drug Misuse - The NEIC Initiative is working to develop services that are evidence-based and are sustainable in the long-term. The involvement of people with lived experience of drug and alcohol and other issues is a core principle of the initiatives being supported. These initiatives are in the main a collaboration between local service providers and national and even European experts. Some of those supported in 2022 include:

Healthcare Navigation Service - The HSE, funded by the NEIC Initiative, has developed a pilot community aftercare programme - Healthcare Navigation Service – for people leaving prison and returning to the NEIC which will support individuals to navigate and engage with health services. Prior to being released from custody, individuals will work with the dedicated Care Navigator to complete a focused health and social care needs assessment and develop an individualised care plan...

Prevention and treatment of non-fatal drug overdose - A too familiar feature of drug use in the NEIC is the high number of drug-related deaths and the resulting impact this has on the families of the bereaved and the wider community. While increasing access to services reduces the risk of drug-related deaths, a need was identified to develop a targeted drug death related prevention initiative among high risk groups. Trinity College Dublin have been commissioned to conduct an exploratory study of non-fatal overdose in the community with the aim to develop recommendations around the prevention and treatment of non-fatal overdose. This is seen as a vital tool in combating and responding to drug-related deaths as real time and place information regarding the reporting of deaths will help services aid those needing help quicker. The Study has commenced and is expected to be completed in Q3 2023.

Community addiction assessment hub - Following initial funding by the NEIC Initiative, a new HSE-led service has been set up in the NEIC for individuals or family members with concerns regarding drug use or gambling and other behavioural addictions such as gambling, gaming and sexual addiction. The Community Addiction Assessment Hub has a multidisciplinary team including an addiction specialist nurse, doctor and counsellor, and the team, by referral, has access to residential stabilisation and detoxification, addiction psychiatry and case management. This service works in conjunction with GPs to provide assessment, preparation and support for community detox. It does not provide medication (scripts) but will provide a treatment plan, supports and monitoring during detoxification and treatment. Referrals for the service are through a General Practitioner.

Community capacity to respond to dual diagnosis - As part of the Dual Diagnosis Awareness workshops and Train the Trainers workshops which were delivered in 2021, participants voiced their aspiration to advance to another level of capacity building, where groups would work inclusively and collaborate to create a joined-up response to Dual Diagnosis within the community. To support this aspiration, a community development worker has been employed to co-ordinate a further capacity building project. The project, which started in September 2022, began by engaging with stakeholders in the community including people and services working in the areas of addiction, mental health, youth, homelessness, health inclusion, GPs, community gardai, politicians, and broader community development organisations....

Anti-Stigma training linked to drug use and addiction - The aim of this training is to reduce the presence of drug-related stigma in NEIC services so that people with experience of drug use can avail of the services they require in a fair and equal manner. It is true to say that most people, when they stigmatise others, do not know that they are doing it and therefore have no realisation of how this negative treatment impacts on people who use drugs. Funded by the NEIC Initiative, by early November SAOL had run two of four free trainings to just over 20 professionals in the community. Further training sessions will be provided towards the end of November 2022 and Winter/Spring 2023 for people who use services. So far it has been a very positive experience and we are delighted be able to provide a pilot training that, when assessed by Trinity College Dublin said that it ‘not only met the expectations of the participants but also had a short-term quantifiable impact on levels of stigma’.

Healthy Communities Programme - Continued support was provided for the Healthy Communities Project, delivered by Dublin City Coop. This project aims to tackle health inequalities by building the capacity of the community to address health issues affecting them. The project is implementing an evaluation and monitoring process with the objective of understanding the impact of Social Prescribing, as well as collecting more comprehensive data on the area.

[See also, Dublin NIEC services map]