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About the NACD

Introduction

The NACD was established in July 2000 under the auspices of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation to conduct, commission and analyse research on issues relating to drugs and to advise Government on policy development in the area. Since June 2002, the NACD falls under the auspices of the Department of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs.

The establishment of the NACD followed a two-year developmental phase during which an interim group was convened to make recommendations and devise a three-year work programme of research and evaluation. The Government accepted these recommendations and the NACD was established to implement the work programme.

The Committee reports to the Minister of State with special responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy. Its goal is to advise the Government in relation to prevalence, prevention, treatment/rehabilitation and consequences of problem drug use in Ireland based on its analysis of research findings and information available to it.

The mandate of the NACD has been extended to July 2008 to coincide with the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 with a budget of €1.3 million per annum. The Work Programme for 2005/2008 has four key elements:

• Commissioned research
• Grant-aided research
• Internal research
• Communications

What is the NACD?

Gathering information, developing knowledge and building understanding of why some people develop drug problems and others do not is essential. We need to know what to do, when to do it and how, if we are to make any difference to the lives of people affected by drug misuse.

The NACD established a sub-committee structure to facilitate the development and implementation of its work programme. These sub-committees are listed below:

• Consequences: The impact of drug use on individuals, families and communities.
• Early Warning & Emerging Trends: Linked to the EMCDDA, alerts us to new synthetic drugs and monitors trends in drug use.
• Prevalence: How many people use drugs, what types of drugs, at what age, and in what areas.
• Prevention: Activities aimed at reducing drug use in the general and specific population(s)
• Treatment/Rehabilitation: Activities aimed at changing or modifying behaviour to reduce drug use, harm and prevent relapse

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