The Department of Health’s steering committee has faced intense scrutiny for excluding key community, family, peer, and Traveller organisations from developing Ireland’s New Drugs Strategy.

The Oireachtas drugs committee decided on Thursday to summon Minister of State Jennifer Murnane O’Connor to explain the “incomprehensible” decision, which has seen experienced organisations sidelined from the reference group overseeing Ireland’s New Drugs Strategy development.

Decades of Experience Cast Aside

The Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign, established in 1996, has participated in national drugs strategy development steering groups for decades. The organisation learned of its exclusion alongside Family Addiction Recovery Ireland (FARI) and Uisce, which represents people who use or have used drugs.

At Thursday’s hearing, Pavee Point, the Traveller body, and the Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force network revealed they too had been excluded from the National Drugs Strategy reference group, despite their longstanding involvement in drug policy consultation.

Anna Quigley, coordinator of Citywide, described the exclusion as an “extraordinary sidelining and disrespecting of extensive, hard-won and invaluable knowledge and experience” of communities and community groups. She suggested there was “no logic” to the decision other than concerns that community groups “will have a huge influence” in shaping the steering group and final strategy.

Task Forces Left Out in the Cold

The Local Drugs and Alcohol Task Force network, established in 1997, operates as partnerships between statutory, voluntary, and community sectors. Chair Aoife Bairéad told the committee it was “extremely worrying” that there has been no collaboration or coordination with task forces in developing Ireland’s New Drugs Strategy.

John Paul Collins of Pavee Point offered a blunt assessment of the Department’s reasoning, suggesting officials were excluding established groups to “make their life easier”.

Committee Demands Answers

Committee chairman Gary Gannon, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Central, described the exclusion as “incomprehensible”. Following discussions with members, he confirmed the committee would invite Minister of State Murnane O’Connor to attend and explain the decision-making process.

The Department of Health previously said it still considers the excluded organisations “respected stakeholders” of the National Drugs Strategy and includes them in consultations. It also noted that individual community drug groups sit on the reference group, but this has done little to ease concerns about the systematic exclusion of community voices with decades of frontline experience.

FARI, which replaced the long-established but now defunct National Family Support Network, has historical precedent for inclusion on such bodies. The National Family Support Network participated in previous drug policy consultation processes for years before its dissolution.

Questions About Meaningful Participation

The controversy raises fundamental questions about how Ireland develops public health policy. When organisations with decades of accumulated knowledge and direct community connections are excluded from drugs strategy development, the legitimacy and effectiveness of the final strategy comes under scrutiny.

Community groups work daily with individuals and families affected by drug use. Their exclusion from the reference group suggests a shift away from the collaborative, partnership-based approach that has characterised Irish drug policy development since the 1990s.

The Oireachtas drugs committee’s decision to seek ministerial accountability signals parliamentary concern that the exclusion of community voices may undermine the strategy’s credibility and practical implementation.

As the committee awaits the minister’s explanation, the question remains: can a national drugs strategy be truly effective when developed without the meaningful participation of those on the frontlines of Ireland’s drug crisis?

Source: dbrecoveryresources