New services planned for addicts
Drug addicts should able to be visit needle exchanges and other harm reduction services late at night and at weekends, a report recommended today.
The report calls for adequate treatments to be made available within one month of addicts being assessed and for more support to be provided for their families.
The mid-term review of the eight-year National Drugs Strategy, which began in 2001, said that drug prevention education should be part of the curriculum for student teachers.
Minister of State Noel Ahern said there had been a number of significant achievements during the first four years of the strategy:
A 45% increase in the number of methadone treatment places for heroin addicts, to 7,400 in total;
The establishment of 10 regional drug task forces in deprived areas with high levels of drug abuse;
An increase in drug seizures by gardaí and the customs service;
The availability of 1,120 places in community employment schemes for recovering drug addicts.
“This suggests that our current approach to tackling the drug problem is proving to be effective,” said Mr Ahern.
