Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1838. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the Budget measures announced under the remit of the National Drugs Strategy in Budget 2022, by measure in tabular form. [40696/22]
View answerA total of €7 million was allocated for new health measures to support the implementation of the national drugs strategy in 2022, including an additional €1m provided in the revised Estimates.
€6.32m of this funding has been released to the HSE. This includes €1.5m for the community services enhancement fund to increase access and provision of community-based drug and alcohol services and €0.85m for initiatives to reduce the harms from cocaine and crack cocaine. It is expected the remaining €0.62m to provide health screening and brief intervention (SAOR) under the health diversion programme will be released shortly.
The HSE advise that activities, including the recruitment of staff, under these new measures is underway. A factsheet on the Budget 2022 health measures is attached.
