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The Citizens' Assembly. (2024) Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.

External website: https://citizensassembly.ie/assembly-on-drugs-use/


A Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use has been established to consider the legislative, policy and operational changes Ireland could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider Irish society. The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use will be made up of 100 people, including 99 members of the general public and one independent chairperson. The 99 members of the general public are selected at random in accordance with most recent census data to be nationally representative. The members of the Assembly will be asked to take into consideration the lived experience of people impacted by drugs use, as well as their families and communities, and to look at international best practice.

The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use can make an invaluable contribution to inform the Oireachtas and Government on possible approaches to drugs use in Ireland. The Assembly can also make a valuable contribution to a wider societal debate on drug policy. The work of the Assembly is guided by its Terms of Reference. Further information can be found by visiting the FAQ section.

A Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use shall be convened to consider the legislative, policy and operational changes the State could make to significantly reduce the harmful impacts of illicit drugs on individuals, families, communities and wider society, and to bring forward recommendations in this regard; the Assembly shall consider, inter alia:

  • the drivers, prevalence, attitudes and trends in relation to drugs use in Irish society;
  • the harmful impacts of drugs use on individuals, families, communities and wider society;
  • best practice in promoting and supporting rehabilitation and recovery from drug addiction;
  • the lived experience of young people and adults affected by drugs use, as well as their families and communities;
  • international, European Union, national and local perspectives on drugs use;
  • the efficacy of current strategic, policy and operational responses to drugs use;
  • international best practice and practical case studies in relation to reducing supply, demand and harm, and increasing resilience, health and well-being; and
  • the opportunities and challenges, in an Irish context, of reforming legislation, strategy, policy and operational responses to drugs use, taking into consideration the implications for the health, criminal justice and education systems.

Assembly meetings between April and the end of the year in venues in and around Dublin, as detailed below:
15-16 April 2023
13-14 May 2023
24-25 June 2023
2-3 September 2023
30 September-1 October 2023
21-22 October 2023

Advisory Support Group to the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use

Chairperson of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, Mr. Paul Reid, has today announced the membership of the Advisory Support Group to the Assembly.

The members of the Advisory Support Group include:

  • Jo-Hanna Ivers, Associate Professor in Addictions, School of Medicine, and Associate Dean of Civic Engagement & Social Innovation, Trinity College Dublin
  • Philly McMahon, advocate for people affected by drugs use
  • Mary Cannon, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and consultant psychiatrist, Beaumont Hospital.
  • Joe O’Neill, Chair of the Western Region Drugs and Alcohol Task Force
  • Ann Ryan, Retired Judge of the District Court
  • Brian Galvin, Programme Manager for Drug and Alcohol Research, Health Research Board
  • John Garry, Professor of Political Behaviour and lead at The Democracy Unit, Queen’s University Belfast

The Terms of Reference for the Advisory Support Group identify the group’s role as supporting the Chair of the Assembly in developing a fair, balanced and comprehensive work programme, in line with the Assembly’s Terms of Reference. Members of the Group will offer suggestions and feedback on the design of a draft programme, and identify options for specialists, experts, stakeholder groups and others to appear before the Assembly. It will be a matter for the Chair and members of the Assembly to determine the final Work Programme.

Where possible, members of the Advisory Support Group will attend the meetings of the Citizens’ Assembly. Their role at those meetings will be:

  • To observe proceedings and reflect on how the material being presented is received by members;
  • To consider how best to incorporate feedback from roundtable discussions and post-meeting evaluations into programme design for subsequent meetings;
  • Where appropriate, and at the discretion of the Chairperson, members of the Advisory Support Group may also provide clarification on questions from the members, with answers being provided either in plenary session or in documentation;
  • Where appropriate, and at the discretion of the Chairperson, members of the Advisory Support Group may be invited to present to the Citizens’ Assembly in plenary session.

    Stakeholders and the wider public were invited to lodge submissions to share their views and perspectives as part of the public consultation of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. The public consultation period took place from Thursday 4 May until Friday 30 June 2023.

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