A group comprising every former Drugs Minister in the State has called for urgent action on the drugs crisis in Ireland, citing the situation as being “at epidemic proportions”. The national budget for those task forces has been static at €28m since 2015, despite the evolution of the drugs problem nationwide and a ballooning health budget overall. Yesterday Minister Byrne declared herself “committed to implementing an integrated public health response to substance misuse”. Róisín Shortall, the former minister and current Social Democrats TD, told the gathering that securing representation from Leo Varadkar on the oversight committee would be key to bringing the drugs strategy back from the brink. Something has to be done because the issue is at epidemic proportions across the country at this stage."

Source: Irish Examiner October 30, 2019 16:30 UTC