Pubdate: Wed, 01 Nov 2006
Source: Athlone Advertiser (Ireland)
Copyright: 2006 Athlone Advertiser
Contact:  http://www.athloneadvertiser.ie/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4335
Author: Maria Daly

TASK FORCE TO SPEARHEAD FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

A new drugs task force for the Midlands region will be launched 
tomorrow [Thursday] by Noel Ahern, TD, Minister of State with 
responsibility for the National Drug Strategy.

This will be the first ever organised plan to tackle substance misuse 
in the Midlands. The plan will be officially launched in the 
Tullamore Court Hotel on Thursday November 2.

Speaking before the launch of the Midlands Drug Task Force, Mayor of 
Athlone Town, John Butler, said that it is very important to have a 
task force in place to tackle the drugs issue and to give support to 
people coming off drugs.

"It is necessary to have this body in place to ensure that all 
strands of the problem from education to addiction are working 
together," he said.

The task force will progress a range of measures across the four 
pillars of education/prevention, supply reduction, 
treatment/rehabilitation, and research.

The Midland Regional Drugs Task Force is one of 14 task forces to be 
set up under the Government's national drugs strategy for 2001 to 2008.

The aim of the Midland RDTF is to deliver a more co-ordinated 
response to tackling the problem of drug misuse. The Midland RDTF was 
established in 2003 with the guidance and support of the National 
Drugs Strategy Team with the support of the Department of Community, 
Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The task force for the Midlands will reflect a four county 
interagency collaboration that includes voluntary organsations, 
community groups, and specific interest groups. The four counties are 
Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, and Laois.

A comprehensive consultation process was undertaken in the Midlands 
before the RDTF, working with its co-ordinators, drew up the first 
Midlands RDTF action plan. This plan was completed during 2005 and 
submitted to the National Drug Strategy Team and the Department of 
Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs for its consideration and 
approval for Government funding.

The plan is not a static document so is subject to changes and 
alterations made to it by the task force during its lifetime. The 
first initiative of the taskforce is the small grants scheme, which 
was advertised in September and is aimed at stimulating activity 
among the voluntary and community sector across the region to tackle 
the drugs problem.

The scheme has received 40 submissions for a range of groups, from 
local resident committees to regional voluntary organisations. There 
were 12 applications through the small grants scheme in Westmeath, 
five from Longford, 10 from Offaly, and 13 from Laois.

The response to the scheme has demonstrated the level of awareness of 
the community and voluntary sector to the substance misue issue in 
the region and their willingness to get involved with the taskforce 
in tackling this issue.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine