he Government launched Ireland’s third national drugs strategy in July. While there are a number of consistent themes linking all three strategies, the shift towards a health-led approach, already apparent in previous strategies, is explicitly made in Reducing harm, supporting recovery: a health-led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017—2025.
The values that the new strategy espouses, and particular actions that give these values expression in very concrete ways, moves Ireland towards the more progressive end of the spectrum internationally.1 Another important development in terms of international comparisons is the description of Reducing harm, supporting recovery as the first integrated drug and alcohol strategy in Ireland. Policy coherence is an indicator used for international comparison and the new strategy would be seen in a different light from previous strategies in this context.2
These changes, in particular the willingness to examine the legislation relating to the criminal status of certain possession offences, reflect developments and debate in drug policy internationally. While human rights is only mentioned specifically once in the strategy document, the overall vision of the strategy, the values underpinning it and some specific actions would suggest that there is greater emphasis on human rights than in previous strategies.
The strategy’s humanist values promote inclusion, fairness and participation, and also the use of evidence in policy development and implementation. The growth in the knowledge base since the beginning of the last strategy, and the increasing emphasis on evidence-informed decision-making internationally, makes an increasing and more consistent use of evidence more likely. Evidence-informed policy also implies that success will be measured by appropriate indicators. A recent EMCDDA report stated that ‘evaluation is essential for effective policymaking, helping ensure that policies and programmes have the desired effect, provide value for money and do not have negative unintended consequences’.3 The strategy will use a number of key performance indicators, each of which will be supported by information systems providing the data, to give an accurate determination of performance.
It is probably in this respect that the Reducing harm, supporting recovery is most innovative. The performance measurement system developed to assess the response to problem substance use at a population level is both an evaluation instrument and a mechanism to enable funding to be allocated on a more equitable and rational basis. The successful implementation of this system during the lifetime of this strategy will be the clearest expression of its commitment to fairness, efficient use of resources and the use of evidence.
1 Pike B (2015) How does Ireland’s drugs policy compare with others? Drugnet Ireland, 53: 4-5. http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/23687/
2 Pompidou Group (2012) Policy paper providing guidance to policy makers for developing coherent policies for licit and illicit drugs. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/17318/
3 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (2017) Evaluating drug policy: a seven-step guide to support the commissioning and managing of evaluations. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/27536/
