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.

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

Watch the video of the session on the Oireachas website, 26 February 2026

• Opening statement, Angela Willis, Assistant Commissioner Organised and Serious Crime, An Garda Síochána
• Opening statement, Rachel Woods, Assistant Secretary, Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
• Opening statement, David Leach, Assistant Secretary, Department of Health

Debate:

An Cathaoirleach: Everyone is very welcome. I am delighted to open the 17th public meeting of the joint committee. This is our first meeting on legal issues, to discuss the criminal justice and public health perspectives on legal and policy responses to drug use. I welcome our witnesses. From the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, I welcome Ms Rachel Woods, assistant secretary, head of criminal justice policy, and Ms Mary O'Regan, principal officer, criminal justice policy. From An Garda Síochána, I welcome assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, organised and serious crime, and detective chief superintendent Séamus Boland, head of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. From the Department of Health, I welcome Mr. David Leach, assistant secretary, and Dr. Eamon Keenan, national clinical lead for HSE addiction services. They are all very welcome...

Ms Rachel Woods: I thank the committee for inviting me to speak here today. I am the head of the criminal justice policy function within the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

The Department is fully committed to reducing the direct and indirect harms caused to society by illicit drug use through appropriate diversion and enforcement measures. The three main policy objectives we are seeking to achieve in this area are tackling organised crime, minimising the harms caused to those with addiction issues and diverting people from involvement in crime and illicit drug-related activity. Work is ongoing in relation to all three areas.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share with the committee some of the work we have undertaken in relation to the Government’s health-led approach to drugs use, as set out in the national drugs strategy 2017 to 2025. That strategy recognised the need for balanced, health-led approaches to reducing the harm that illicit drug use can cause to individuals, families, and communities. It advocates for a two-pronged response that reduces both access to illicit drugs and the number of people criminalised by possession for personal use...

[Click here to read the full debate on the Oireachtas website]