This week, the Committee engages will officials from the criminal justice and public health systems to examine legislative, policy and operational responses to drug use in Ireland. The discussion will explore how these responses operate in practice, including how they may support recovery outcomes as well as the challenges they present in areas such as prisons, local communities and supports for women engaging in drug use and experiencing addiction.

This meeting forms part of the Committee’s broader examination of legal issues relating to drug use, including decriminalisation, depenalisation, diversions measures and models of regulation. The Committee looks forward to constructive engagements with witnesses as it continues its evidence-based assessment of the Report of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use.”

Engagement on Legal and Policy Responses to Drug Use: Criminal Justice and Public Health Perspectives

• Ms. Rachel Woods, Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
• Ms. Mary O'Regan, Principal Officer, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
• Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, Organised and Serious Crime, An Garda Síochána
• Detective Chief Superintendent Séamus Boland, Head of the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, An Garda Síochána
• Mr. David Leach, Assistant Secretary, Department of Health
• Professor Eamon Keenan, National Clinical Lead for HSE Addiction Services, Department of Health