A ministerial meeting of the drugs and alcohol work sector of the British–Irish Council (BIC) was held in Dublin on 26 January 2024. The Irish Government is the lead administration for this strand of work.

The meeting was chaired by Minister for Public Health, Well-being and the National Drugs Strategy, Hildegarde Naughton TD. It was also attended by ministers from Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and Guernsey.1

British–Irish Council
As described in issue 72 of Drugnet Ireland,2 BIC was established in 1999 as part of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 in order to further promote positive, practical relationships among the peoples of the islands as well as to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation. The formal purpose of BIC, as outlined in Strand 3 of the Agreement, is as follows:3

To promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands… The BIC will exchange information, discuss, consult and use best endeavours to reach agreement on co-operation on matters of mutual interest within the competence of the relevant Administrations.4

Work sector activity report
Between 2021 and 2024, the group held a series of events and visits, worked with other relevant BIC work sectors, and consulted with external stakeholders and third-sector organisations to provide a broader perspective for its work across five themes. It provided participants with the opportunity to share emerging good practice and knowledge between those facing common challenges across the different jurisdictions.

Central to the January meeting was a report on the work sector’s activity over this period.5 It is a descriptive report structured around the five topics that were agreed as priorities for the group’s work.

1    Lessons from COVID-19 on the design and delivery of drug and alcohol services: The group found that many service innovations and improvements that came from the policy and drug service response to the COVID-19 pandemic had since been mainstreamed. These included the provision of additional resources, improved capacity, and better ways of working. The work sector will continue to share learnings on these approaches and innovations as they continue to be implemented.

2    Reduction to risk of drug-related deaths: Information has been shared within the group about the underlying factors identified in drug deaths and innovative responses to address them. Responses included monitoring drug consumption trends, harm reduction measures, and treatment delivery.

3    Reduction of alcohol-related harms through the use of financial mechanisms: The group recognised that financial mechanisms can be used as policy levers to reduce alcohol consumption. They explored the evidence surrounding these mechanisms in their ability to reduce alcohol-related harms, with a focus on the use of minimum unit pricing (MUP) and the experiences of BIC member administrations in implementing it as a policy. A workshop held on the topic concluded that ‘effective MUP policy is important to reducing alcohol-related harms but needs to sit alongside a comprehensive alcohol policy with a holistic approach to treatment’ (p. 7).5

4    Meeting the health and social needs of people who are homeless and use drugs and/or alcohol: A central output of the work in this area was a two-day symposium held in Dublin in May 2022, in collaboration with the BIC Housing Work Sector. It brought stakeholders together to look at effective approaches to supporting people who use drugs and are homeless, recognising that many will have complex needs that require a joined-up approach to policy and service delivery between housing and health services.

5    Engagement with the voluntary and community sectors to consider their role in the provision of drug and alcohol services and in the development and monitoring of policy: The group’s work in this area involved meeting and visiting community and voluntary organisations working in the field (e.g. in London, Dublin and Glasgow). This contributed to an informative discussion on ‘the development of services that have a broader remit, incorporating a whole system approach which address the wider determinants of health such as inequalities, deprivation, housing and employment’ (p. 10).5

Future priorities
At the January meeting, five topics were agreed as priorities for the group’s work moving forward:

•  Involvement of people with lived experience in drugs services
• Drug use and drug services for people in prison
• Health-led approaches for people in possession of drugs for personal use
• Community action on alcohol (collaboration with the European Framework for Action on Alcohol)6
• Peer reviews on topical drug and alcohol trends.

Deliberative democracy and drugs policy
The chair of Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, Paul Reid, made a presentation to the group. He described the structure and work of the Assembly and illustrated how it could be used as a model for deliberative democracy and drugs policy.

1    British–Irish Council (2024) Drugs and Alcohol Ministerial meeting, Dublin, 26 January 2024 communiqué. Edinburgh: British–Irish Council. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40402/

2    Dillon L (2020) British–Irish Council in Dublin. Drugnet Ireland, 72 (Winter): 5. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/31712/

3    More details on the work of BIC is available from its website: https://www.britishirishcouncil.org/

4    A copy of the Good Friday Agreement is available at: https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/alldfawebsitemedia/ourrolesandpolicies/northernireland/good-friday-agreement.pdf

5    British–Irish Council (2024) Drugs and Alcohol Work Sector: report on work sector activity 2021–2024. Edinburgh: British–Irish Council. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40402/

6    World Health Organization (WHO) (2022) European framework for action on alcohol
2022–2025. Tel Aviv: WHO European Region. Available from: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/361662/72wd12e-Alcohol-220604.pdf