The problem of drugs and addiction occupies so much of our daily news and affects so many Irish families that you might expect it would be a major political priority. Well, it isn’t.
With every change of Government and Cabinet reshuffle of recent years, the drugs portfolio has slipped further and further down the priority list.
Drugs and drugs issues have gone from being the sole responsibility of a Minister of State who sat at Cabinet, to being a significant part of a small Government Department, to being half a role of a Minister of State, to now being little more than an
after-thought for Health officials.
There it competes for the attention of the Minister and his senior Civil Servants with the likes of cancer care, accident and emergency priorities, medical cards etc.
In a Government that deliberately divides the poor into the “deserving poor” and the “other poor”, it doesn’t stand a chance.
One good example of how far drugs has slipped as a political priority is the way several Government Departments have scaled back their involvement in combating drugs issues.
All have in theory signed up to a national drugs strategy. The idea was the problem is so widespread that only a Government-wide strategy stood any chance of succeeding.
However, after several years of austerity budgets that saw Departments seek to protect what they considered to be their main functions and cut everything else, many now no longer play any meaningful role in combating the drugs problem.
Social Protection has scaled back its role through cuts while Environment has withdrawn funding from many important drugs projects.
The Department of Education has all but withdrawn any meaningful support on drugs issues.
Another good example is the recent Government announcement of measures to help combat homelessness. Addiction is a factor for many people who are homeless, especially those who are sleeping rough.
Source: Roisin Shortall, Irish Mirror, 05/01/15
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