607. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which he remains focused on enabling rehabilitation and methadone treatments for those who have been adversely affected by drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9853/23]

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

The National Drug Strategy, Reducing Harm Supporting Recovery, strategy provides an integrated public health approach to drug and alcohol use, focused on reducing the harms for individuals, families and communities and promoting rehabilitation and recovery.

Methadone prescribing for opioid dependence remains a key element of the harm reduction approach to opioid use set out in the National Drugs Strategy. Methadone is one of the medications used in opioid substitution treatment, along with suboxone.

Opioid substitution treatment supports patients to recover from drug dependence. HSE addiction services work within the national drugs rehabilitation framework to support progression pathways. The framework ensures that individuals affected by drug misuse are offered a range of integrated options tailored to meet their needs and to create rehabilitation pathways.

Over the last 3 years and in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the HSE introduced a number of innovative changes to the delivery of care for this cohort to enable them safely access treatment and significantly reduce waiting times. As a result of these innovations and changes, the HSE Addiction services and community level 1 and level 2 GPs were in October 2022, providing OST/OAT to almost 1000 more individuals than at the end of January 2020 as can be seen in the table below

The number of GPs prescribing buprenorphine-based products increased from 37 to 61 in this period.

I believe that methadone treatment reflects the public health approach to drug and alcohol misuse set out in the National Drugs Strategy. Moreover, it is an important tool to reduce harm and to aid people to recover from drug use. I am committed to improving the availability of this treatment and to developing services to meet the needs of people on opioid substitution treatment.