LAST UPDATE | 2 Jul
THERE IS AN “appetite” in Ireland for alternatives to coercive sanctions in drug possession cases, according to a report launched by the Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy today.
Speaking at the launch of the report on Drug Use and Current Alternatives to Coercive Sanctions in Ireland, Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy Colm Burke told The Journal that the Department of Health is working towards a health-led approach on the area of drug use.
The new report on alternative responses to imprisonment, known as ACSs, has said Ireland is “at the precipice” of “transforming how its justice system responds to drug use in a more effective and humane way”.
The report was conducted by a UK-based charity called the Centre for Justice Innovation and is based on a survey and interviews with practitioners or managers from a number of organisations with a role in responding to drug use.
It identifies nine existing services that fall under five categories defined by a European Commission study on alternatives to coercive sanctions:
Other types of responses that the European Commission had identified elsewhere in the European Union include suspension of investigations or court proceedings with a treatment element; probation, community work or restriction of liberty with a treatment element; and intermittent custody/release or parole/early release with a treatment element.
In a statement marking the release of the report, Burke said that drug use is a “serious health issue with long-term implications not just for the person who uses illicit drugs, but for their family and the community around them”.
“This report shows the enthusiasm for a health-led response, one which diverts people away from courts and prisons and instead towards effective programmes that support their rehabilitation and reduce their likelihood of reoffending,” Burke said.
“As Minister with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, I fully committed to ensuring that we move forward with a health-led approach that reduces harms and provides measurable benefits to the lives of everyone affected by the misuse of drugs.”
The new report said that funding for drug treatment services that interact with the criminal justice system is stable and available across a wide range of areas in Ireland.
However, some services, like the Dublin Drug Treatment Court, rely on multiple sources of resources rather than on central funding, while the Cork Court Referral Programme relies on fining individuals to pay for court workers.
Another problem is that “organisational memories within the sector have faded significantly since Covid”, according to the report.
Knowledge of system-wide interventions and alternative to coercive sanctions have reduced. This has led to fewer people engaging with services such as Dublin Drug Treatment Court.
Some new stakeholders lack training and knowledge about alternatives.
Despite the challenges, interviewees from the organisations felt there is a promising environment for change in Ireland’s use of alternatives to coercive sanctions in the wake of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use.
“This environment has provided Ireland with a unique opportunity to expand ACSs and particularly the availability of pre and point-of-arrest diversion,” the report notes.
“Despite challenges that may arise from cultural hesitancy, and the task of adapting systems to enable data sharing and evaluation for this model, the potential for change in the current framework of opportunities is hugely promising.”
Speaking this morning at the launch of the report, Burke said that it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on the findings of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use, as it currently before an Oireachtas Committee.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use provided 36 recommendations. On June 13, the Oireachtas Committee held its first public meeting. The committee is to provide a “reasoned response to all 36 recommendations made by the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use within a seven-month time frame”.
Chair of the citizens’ assembly, Paul Reid, spoke before the committee and said that he believes the two-volume report is “the most thorough and far-reaching examination of drug use undertaken in the history of the State”.
“The citizens’ assembly recommendations support specific measures for implementation including, for example, a decriminalised model, pivoting from a reliance on a criminal justice response to a comprehensive health-led response. We have described this as an Irish model for the Irish problem of illicit drug use,” he said.
Burke, who was appointed to the role in April by Taoiseach Simon Harris, spoke of now-retired Judge Olann Kelleher’s work in Cork, where he spearheaded a diversion initiative in which 189 young people avoided a drugs conviction for possession of cocaine by taking part in an educational programme, as well as paying a small fine that was directed towards funding the programme.
Last week, The Journal reported that numbers in Irish prisons surpassed 5,000 for the first time ever. The minister said that initiatives like that of Judge Kelleher’s, in intervening with people who face addiction issues before they face criminal convictions is important, but also assisting those after leaving prison.
“This is what Judge Olann Kelleher has done, the difference is if he imposed one conviction on one of those people, the likelihood is that the person will be back in a second and third time which would eventually lead to an imprisonment term,” he said.
“But it’s about also helping people within prison. The problem is not about when they’re in prison, it’s the follow-up after they leave prison. Who is their contact?”
Where do they access that healthcare when they leave prison? A lot are actually people who don’t have any fixed place to go when they leave, and I think that’s one of the issues that we need to be conscious of as well.”
Chair of SIG-5 and CEO of Ana Liffey Drug Project, Tony Duffin, presented the report this morning alongside Director of Services at Ana Liffey Drug Project Dawn Russell, Head of Services at Coolmine TC Lisa Larkin, Senior Innovative Practice Officer at the Centre for Justice Innovation Jason Kew, and Research Officer at the Centre for Justice Innovation Carla McDonald-Heffernan.
With additional reporting by Emma Hickey.
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