Labour TD Mr Alex White succeeded Ms Róisín Shortall as Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy in September 2012.

In December Minister White announced the conclusions of a review of drugs task forces by the Department of Health. (See www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19054) The review recommends a series of reforms to better equip the task forces to respond to the current pattern of substance misuse. The key changes include:

• Drugs task forces to be renamed ‘Drug and Alcohol Task Forces’;

• A national co-ordinating committee to be established to guide the work of the task forces and drive implementation of the National Drugs Strategy;

• Clearer terms of reference and corporate governance guidelines for the task forces;

• Measures to encourage more public representative involvement in the work of the task forces; and

• Review of the number and boundaries of drugs task forces, mainly in Dublin.