Colm Burke TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy
 

In April 2024, Colm Burke TD was appointed as the new Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy.1 Minister Burke has been a TD serving Cork North-Central since 2020. Prior to that he was a Senator (2011-2020), a member of the European Parliament for the Ireland South constituency (2007-2009), and a member of Cork City Council (1999-2007). Among his first tasks as Minister will be to coordinate a response to the 36 recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, which will be the subject of a forthcoming Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use.2

1    Department of Health (2017) Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery: a health-led response
to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017–2025. Dublin: Department of Health. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27603/

2    The Citizens’ Assembly (2024) Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, vols 1 and 2. Dublin: The Citizens’ Assembly. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40393/