Minister of State at the Department of Health Jennifer Murnane O’Connor: Thank you so much Cathaoirleach and members. I am delighted to be here. I am joined from the Department by Mr. David Leach, assistant secretary, Mr. Jim Walsh, principal officer, and Ms Deirdre King-De Montano, assistant principal. As the Cathaoirleach mentioned, I am also joined by Professor Bobby Smyth, Dr. Sarah Morton and Ms Mellany McLoone. It is great to be here today to talk to members about the national drugs strategy.

Dr. Morton is the chair of the national drugs strategy steering group and is overseeing the drafting of the next national drugs strategy. The role of the steering committee is to provide oversight, guidance and expert advice on the content of the strategy. Mr. Joe O'Neill is also here today. He is chairman of the Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force and is a member of the national drugs strategy reference group. Membership of the reference group includes people with lived or living experience of drug use, taking account of the voices of Travellers, migrants and individuals who have had experience of the criminal justice system.

I wish to reaffirm the programme for Government commitment to a health-led approach to drug use. The national drugs strategy will focus on this and deepen the health-led approach by addressing the enormous changes we have seen in drug use since the last strategy was drafted in 2016. I am very mindful, as are my colleagues in the Department, of the fact that we are looking at ten years since the previous drugs strategy. In the intervening period, there have been a lot of changes and challenges. It is important to draw on the findings of the independent evaluation of the previous strategy in order to support the design of an integrated, equitable and evidence-based response to drug use that is responsive to emerging trends and aligned with national priorities and international best practice. Our consultations with stakeholders included individuals and families with lived and living experience of drug use which will contribute to the development of the successor strategy. I have shared a report on these consultations with the committee.

As members will be aware, since the emergence of the drug problem in the 1980s, Irish society has been transformed.

This has shaped patterns of drug use. We have seen huge growth, increased urbanisation and technological advances, which have contributed to changing social dynamics and drug trends. Where drug use in the 1980s was often associated with heroin in specific urban communities, today’s landscape is far more complicated. In the decade since the previous strategy was drafted, drug use in Ireland has evolved significantly. Over 13,000 cases of problem drug use received treatment in 2024, an increase of 50% since 2017. The increased demand for treatment is from all regions, all age groups, men and women, people with and without children, those in employment as well as the unemployed. There has been an increase in the availability of new psychoactive substances and designer stimulants, which presents new challenges for public health. The consumption of drugs has changed, with cocaine now the most treated drug. The settings in which drugs are used have changed and there is higher rate of polydrug use. There is greater recognition of the impact of drug use on mental health, especially among our young people and the need for community-based, health-led approaches. I believe that is why the Citizens' Assembly on Drug Use stated, "The stark reality of drug use in Ireland today means that there is no time to be lost" and recommended that the new national drugs strategy be drafted and agreed urgently. The recommendations set a target date of 2024 for its completion....

[Click here for the full debate or click here to view the video recording of the session on 13 November 2025 - Topic: Engagement on the National Drugs Strategy]