TASK FORCE TO SPEARHEAD FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

A new drugs task force for the Midlands region will be launched
tomorrow [Thursday] by Noel Ahern, TD, Minister of State with
responsibility for the National Drug Strategy.

This will be the first ever organised plan to tackle substance misuse
in the Midlands. The plan will be officially launched in the
Tullamore Court Hotel on Thursday November 2.

Speaking before the launch of the Midlands Drug Task Force, Mayor of
Athlone Town, John Butler, said that it is very important to have a
task force in place to tackle the drugs issue and to give support to
people coming off drugs.

"It is necessary to have this body in place to ensure that all
strands of the problem from education to addiction are working
together," he said.

The task force will progress a range of measures across the four
pillars of education/prevention, supply reduction,
treatment/rehabilitation, and research.

The Midland Regional Drugs Task Force is one of 14 task forces to be
set up under the Government's national drugs strategy for 2001 to 2008.

The aim of the Midland RDTF is to deliver a more co-ordinated
response to tackling the problem of drug misuse. The Midland RDTF was
established in 2003 with the guidance and support of the National
Drugs Strategy Team with the support of the Department of Community,
Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The task force for the Midlands will reflect a four county
interagency collaboration that includes voluntary organsations,
community groups, and specific interest groups. The four counties are
Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, and Laois.

A comprehensive consultation process was undertaken in the Midlands
before the RDTF, working with its co-ordinators, drew up the first
Midlands RDTF action plan. This plan was completed during 2005 and
submitted to the National Drug Strategy Team and the Department of
Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs for its consideration and
approval for Government funding.

The plan is not a static document so is subject to changes and
alterations made to it by the task force during its lifetime. The
first initiative of the taskforce is the small grants scheme, which
was advertised in September and is aimed at stimulating activity
among the voluntary and community sector across the region to tackle
the drugs problem.

The scheme has received 40 submissions for a range of groups, from
local resident committees to regional voluntary organisations. There
were 12 applications through the small grants scheme in Westmeath,
five from Longford, 10 from Offaly, and 13 from Laois.

The response to the scheme has demonstrated the level of awareness of
the community and voluntary sector to the substance misue issue in
the region and their willingness to get involved with the taskforce
in tackling this issue.