Press Release: Friday 25 April 2025
Minister Murnane O’Connor announces €1.89 million funding for community-based drugs services
The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD, has announced an additional €1.89 million in recurring funding to further enhance community-based drug services.
Through the Community Services Enhancement Fund, the additional funding will support drug services to meet increased treatment demand, with a focus on improving access to services in underserved communities, promoting evidence-based innovations in service design and delivery, and meeting the needs of people who use stimulant drugs.
Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
“This funding represents another practical step in our efforts to strengthen the health-led response to drug use by enhancing access and delivery of drug services in the community, in line with the national drugs strategy.
“The six HSE Health Regions will each receive between €252,000 and €378,000 per year, with allocations based on population needs.
“By making drug treatment services available as part of primary care, we’re helping to reduce the stigma of drug use and to meet the diverse health needs of people using drugs.
“The additional funding meets the Programme for Government commitment to ‘increase funding for drug addiction services including local drug and alcohol taskforces to improve their effectiveness’. It also aligns with the report of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use.“
HSE Clinical Lead for Addiction Services Professor Eamon Keenan said:
“I welcome the additional funding announced by the Minister for the Community Service Enhancement Fund 2025. This funding will enhance the delivery of drug and alcohol community services in the newly established HSE Health Regions across the country. This will allow evidence-based interventions to be provided in those areas of most need and these initiatives will be subject to measurements of outcomes thus ensuring that the identified service need is met.”
The funding will be allocated on three-year cycle, with ongoing monitoring and evaluation, to ensure that services are effective in addressing the needs of people who use drugs.
The National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS), published by the Health Research Board, shows there were 13,104 cases in 2023, which is an increase of almost 50% from 8,922 in 2017.
Minister Murnane O’Connor said:
“Over the last number of years there has been a concerted effort to expand services to meet demand and I want to acknowledge the work of service providers, Drug and Alcohol Task Forces and individual projects throughout the country.”