On 24 June 2026 the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use published its final report.1 It provides a summary of the meetings held, evidence considered, the Committee’s responses to the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, as well as a set of the Committee’s own recommendations.2

Through its work, the Committee sought ‘to contribute to the development of an effective, evidence-informed and sustainable national response to drug use in Ireland that prioritises health, dignity, prevention, recovery and community wellbeing, while also addressing the harms caused by organised criminal activity and drug-related exploitation’ (p. 16).1

Background

The Joint Committee on Drugs Use was established in May 2024 by the Irish Government to consider the 2024 Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use and to make a reasoned response to each of its 36 recommendations.2 On 22 October 2024, the Committee published its Interim Report.3 The work of the Committee was interrupted by the dissolution of the Government in November 2024. However, it was re-established under a new chair in May 2025 to continue its work. In addition to considering the 36 recommendations made by the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, the new Committee was also required to consider the findings of the interim report of the previous Committee.4

Public meetings

The new Committee held its first public meeting in September 2025. It included members from across the spectrum of political parties (not just Government parties). The Chair of the Committee was Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. The other members of the Committee reflect cross-party membership, including Independents, as well as members of the Senate (Seanad Éireann).

The Committee worked to a set of thematic modules through which it examined the Citizens’ Assembly’s recommendations. In total, 23 public meetings were held in which witnesses with expertise in the topic were invited to present to the Committee, and were subject to questions from Committee members. Witnesses included Government Department staff, State agency staff, academics, clinicians, researchers, youth workers, community organisations, family support groups, legal experts, representatives of An Garda Síochána, international experts, and individuals with lived experience of substance use and recovery. The Committee also engaged with evidence and policy developments from other jurisdictions. The thematic modules examined and number of associated meetings were:

• Module 1: Family and community supports – five meetings
• Module 2: Education, youth, and prevention – five meetings
• Module 3: Treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation – three meetings
• Module 4: Legal and policy issues – seven meetings.

Three standalone public meetings were also held on the specific topics of: the national drugs strategy; nitrous oxide and other inhalants; and women, drug use, and addiction.

Reasoned responses to Citizens’ Assembly

The Citizens’ Assembly’s recommendations were far-reaching and reflected the complex and cross-cutting nature of drugs use in Ireland.5 Overall, the Assembly found it to be a ‘serious, urgent, complex, escalating and evolving public health issue that causes widespread and significant harm’ (p. 9).1 The Assembly concluded that not enough was being done in Ireland to address the drug situation and to meet the needs of those affected. Greater political prominence and priority need to be given to drug policy. The recommendations argue that the response requires effective involvement from all stakeholders with a high-level leadership, and additional funding resources. An overarching theme was that the Assembly considered drug use to be predominantly a health issue, and it recommended that health-led options should be formally adopted and adequately resourced as an alternative for people experiencing drug addiction who are in contact with the criminal justice system.

The Committee overwhelmingly agreed with the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly and through its reasoned responses provides further consideration of how they could be implemented. They differed in one case. While the Committee recognised the importance of financial accountability for key stakeholders, it did not consider it ‘practical or proportionate’ for them to jointly publish an annual report on expenditure that would be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, as per recommendation 20 of the Assembly (p. 27).1

Committee recommendations

Based on a consideration of the evidence presented to it, the Committee made 161 recommendations of its own. Collectively, they present the Committee’s view of the most effective national response to drug use in Ireland. They are structured around the following 11 themes: family supports; community supports; kinship care; intergenerational trauma; addiction, sports, and well-being; young people; neurodiversity; women, drug use, and addiction; the national drugs strategy; emerging trends; and legal and policy issues. The recommendations vary from those that are very issue specific – such as the introduction of mandatory health warnings on aerosol deodorants and other inhalant products – to those that have a broader focus, such as the need for a health-led approach to policy. Across the board there is a call for increased funding to meet growing demands, including in prevention, treatment, and recovery. There is also a call for better coordination and collaboration across Government Departments, and with other stakeholders to address the complex nature of drug use and its social causes.

It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss all of the recommendations in detail. However, examples of recommendations linked to three core topics are outlined below: health-led approach to drug policy, decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use, and the delivery and governance structures for implementing Ireland’s drugs strategy.

Health-led approach

Underpinning the report is an explicit commitment to a health-led approach to drug use in Ireland, echoing the findings of the Assembly. The Committee describes theirs as a ‘view that health should not simply be one consideration among many, but should be the primary driver in policy design and the first, and most prominent, aspect of policy implementation that those affected by drug use will experience in practice’ (p. 21).1 It is also recommended that in the next national drugs strategy the Department of Health adopts a definition of a ‘health-led approach’ based on international best practice (p. 47, recommendation 85).1 

Decriminalisation of the possession of all drugs for personal use

To deliver on the Assembly’s recommendation to introduce a comprehensive health-led response to the possession of drugs for personal use, the Committee calls for its decriminalisation (see Box 1 for a definition):

• ‘The Committee recommends the repeal of section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 in order to fully decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use. The Committee also supports legislative reforms to strengthen and extend the spent convictions regime, to reduce the long-term impacts of criminal records on rehabilitation, recovery, social inclusion and access to employment’ (p. 52, recommendation 126).1 
• While recommending decriminalisation, the Committee also recommends ‘maintaining strong criminal sanctions against organised crime, drug trafficking, coercion of children, and commercial supply networks, while separating these offences clearly from personal possession offences’ (p. 53, recommendation 132).1 
• The Committee recognises concerns about decriminalisation undermining Garda powers and recommends that: ‘Government clarify, in legislation if needed, that the repeal of section 3 would not undermine Garda powers relating to sale or supply offences, search powers, or organised crime investigations’
  (p. 53, recommendation 133).1

Delivery and governance structures

The Committee focuses some of its recommendations on the structures needed for developing and monitoring the implementation of drug policy in Ireland. For example, it supports a central role for the Drug and Alcohol Task Forces and civil society, as well as the establishment of a standing Oireachtas Joint Committee:

• ‘The Committee calls for the new National Drugs Strategy to have local and regional Drug and Alcohol Task Forces at the centre of decision-making and responses, and to be represented in all appropriate oversight structures’ (p. 49, recommendation 99).1 
• ‘The Committee calls on the Department of Health to un-pause the National Drugs Strategy Oversight Committee and to include representatives of civil society, and community and voluntary sector organisations in its membership’ (p. 48, recommendation 94).1 
• ‘Recognising the prevalence of drug use and addiction in Ireland, and the pace of emerging trends in both substance use and international best practice responses, the Committee calls for the establishment of a standing Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drug Use and Related Issues, to ensure that drug policy is under continual consideration, review and scrutiny by the Oireachtas’ (p. 52, recommendation 123).1

Next steps

The Committee’s report has been brought to the Houses of the Oireachtas and will be subject to debate. The Government is obliged to respond to each recommendation of the report in the Oireachtas. For recommendations that it accepts, it is obliged to set out a time frame for their implementation. 

1    Joint Committee on Drugs Use (2026) Joint Committee on Drugs Use Final Report. Dublin: Houses of the Oireachtas. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/45947/

2    The Citizens’ Assembly (2024) Report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. Dublin: The Citizens’ Assembly. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40393/

3    Joint Committee on Drugs Use (2024) Joint Committee on Drugs Use Interim Report. Dublin: Houses of the Oireachtas. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/42080/

4    Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform (2025) Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform: Orders of Reference and Establishment of Committees. Dublin: Houses of the Oireachtas. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/43645/

5    Dillon L (2024) Final report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. Drugnet Ireland, 87 (Winter), Supplement: 2–12. Available from: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40651/