Home > Dáil Éireann debate. Question 24 – Addiction treatment services [Community employment] [37652/24].

[Oireachtas] Dáil Éireann debate. Question 24 – Addiction treatment services [Community employment] [37652/24]. (24 Sep 2024)

External website: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2024...


24. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection given the pressing need for enhanced support in drug and alcohol services in north-inner city Dublin, the specific measures being taken to increase the number of peer support and lived experience workers in these services, particularly through the implementation of financial incentives as part of community employment schemes. [37652/24]

Joe O'Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection: The aim of Community Employment (CE) is to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. It also helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine.My Department supports the objectives of the National Drugs Strategy “Reducing Harm, supporting Recovery” 2017-2025 with focused services for the re-integration of people recovering from substance misuse. Primary amongst these is the CE Programme with an allocation of some 1,000 dedicated ring-fenced drug rehabilitation places. The estimated annual cost of the dedicated CE schemes is in the region of €20m.

As the Deputy is aware, these CE drug rehabilitation schemes have a very significant social inclusion focus, are well embedded in our local communities nationally and are generally engaged in significant levels of local service support and delivery. My Department provides participant grant funding for the recruitment of support workers on CE drug rehabilitation schemes to support the work of the project and the referred participants. The role of the service support worker is crucial in providing these services. Support workers must comply with normal CE eligibility conditions and are assigned tasks associated with the work of the project, including supporting the development of other participants referred for rehabilitation, where the support worker has relevant lived experience in the field of addiction and/or holds a relevant qualification in a related area.These support worker participants are eligible for a maximum continuous duration on CE of 156 weeks. All CE drug rehabilitation projects may apply for support worker places on their project on the basis that for every seven referred participant places approved and filled, they may recruit two support worker participants, as well as one fulltime CE supervisor position. In addition, the per capita participant training grant for CE drug rehabilitation projects is at a higher rate of five hundred euro per participant place. This provides funding for access to more training opportunities given the nature of these projects.The CE Drug Rehabilitation Programme Framework was implemented in January 2016 and involves a multi-agency approach to rehabilitation and is designed to meet the challenging needs of individuals in recovery and to ensure effective and sustainable outcomes.

My Department continues to work with the CE Drugs Advisory Group which has representatives from different stakeholders including the HSE, Department of Health, Education and Training Boards (ETBs), CE Sponsors and Drug Task Forces. My colleague, Hildegarde Naughton, Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy has responsibility the North Inner City Drugs and Alcohol Task Force. The task force oversees public funding for 17 local drug services. The North Inner City Drugs and Alcohol Task Force is one of the longest established task forces in the country and since its inception it has played a valuable role in ensuring the effective delivery of services in the community. I am fully committed to the future of the CE Drug Rehabilitation programme in meeting the objectives set out in the National Drugs Strategy and will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of the CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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