AHERN LAUNCHES NATIONAL DRUGS TREATMENT PLAN

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has urged communities not to resist the setting up
of drug treatment centres in their areas.

He was speaking in Dublin at the publication yesterday of a new
multi-million pound National Drugs Strategy which will deliver more
treatment places for heroin addicts, step up Garda targeting of drug
dealers and establish new regional drugs task forces.

The ambitious seven-year strategy targets the reduction of drug supply,
prevention strategies, treatment and research and sets out 100 actions for
Government departments and State agencies.

Mr Ahern said communities remained at the heart of any serious effort to
tackle drugs. The siting of treatment facilities in communities had been
contentious in the past.

While he understood communities' fears, facilities where the clientele were
locals had most community support. In areas where the clientele were not
local there were more objections.

"The resolution is to have more centres dealing with local clientele so
they don't feel over-lumbered," he added.

The setting up of 11 Regional Drugs Task Forces in health board areas by
the end of this year is one of the key proposals in the new strategy.

These will be in addition to 14 Local Drugs Task Forces set up in the late
1990s, 13 in heroin blighted parts of Dublin and one in Cork. The task
forces, with members from community and voluntary groups and State
agencies, provide a range of local anti-drugs programmes.

Mr Eoin Ryan, the Minister of State with special responsibility for the
National Drugs Strategy, said there was an emerging problem of ecstasy and
cannabis use and underage drinking outside Dublin. Through the new regional
structures, problem areas could be identified and appropriate actions
taken, he said.

Mr Ryan said heroin abuse remained almost exclusively a Dublin problem,
with current estimates of 13,500 heroin users. Street prices for heroin
have collapsed throughout Europe and a "wrap" or single portion cost pounds
20 today, compared to pounds 80 in the past, he said.

"In certain areas Local Drugs Task Forces will tell you it's improved but
there is still a lot of heroin around because it's so cheap," he said.
"There doesn't seem to be the same abuse of injecting heroin that there was
before. If the Local Drugs Task Forces hadn't been there I don't know what
we'd be like."

Mr Ryan said there was "no magic solution" to tackling drug abuse and
social disadvantage had to be addressed as well. "Foundations are now
solidly laid and we have entered the next stage of the drugs strategy with
a clear focus on what needs to be done," he added.

The new strategy follows a lengthy public consultation and review of
existing drugs policy and will involve ongoing work by a variety of
agencies, Government departments and community groups.

It builds on an existing strategy, although it is the first time that a
single policy framework has been devised and responsibilities clearly
allocated.

Community drugs workers at yesterday's launch generally welcomed the
strategy. However, Mr Tony Geoghegan from the Merchant's Quay Project,
which runs a crisis centre for active drug users in Dublin, was critical of
its failure to commit itself to harm reduction measures for active drug users.

These include consumption rooms which are safe environments for heroin
users to administer drugs and providing heroin on prescription.

The strategy states that it does not consider the introduction of such
experimental harm reduction measures to be warranted at the moment.
However, it says the situation should be kept under review and the results
of research monitored.

Ms Anna Quigley, from the Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, said it was
crucial for the Government to support communities to play their role in
carrying out the strategy's aims.

Main Measures The National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 sets targets under four
areas of supply reduction, prevention, treatment and research. It aims to:

* Increase Garda resources in Local Drugs Task Force areas by the end of 2001.

* Increase by 50 per cent the volume of drugs seized by the end of 2008.

* Reduce drug misuse by schoolgoers to below the EU average.

* Start a national awareness campaign in 2001.

* Introduce substance misuse prevention programmes in schools.

* Increase the number of methadone treatment places from 5,000 to 6,500 by
the end of 2002.

* Offer drug addicts immediate access to professional assessment and
counselling, with treatment to start less than a month after the assessment.

* Eliminate all major drug research gaps by the end of 2003.

* Publish an annual report on progress in achieving these targets.