{"id":610333,"date":"2026-08-31T16:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/610333\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T16:44:11","slug":"irelands-first-drug-diversion-scheme-begins-nationwide-after-seven-year-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/610333\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland’s first drug diversion scheme begins nationwide after seven-year wait"},"content":{"rendered":"

The HSE is \u201cgeared up\u201d for around 7,000 people to be referred to it by garda\u00ed for a first-time offence of possessing drugs for personal use.<\/p>\n

The scheme \u2014 announced as government policy seven years ago \u2014 starts nationwide tomorrow for a one-year trial.<\/p>\n

It is Ireland\u2019s first diversion scheme for drug possession and is a landmark in State drug policies, although its limited scope, confined to just a first offence, has been criticised.<\/p>\n

Its introduction follows a series of delays within An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na, between Government departments and, more recently, within the DPP.<\/p>\n

As a result of complex discussions over the best way to proceed, the Health Referral Scheme is being brought in on an \u201cadministrative\u201d basis, rather than through legal changes.<\/p>\n

The Irish Examiner understands that rank-and-file garda\u00ed, and their supervisors, have not been provided with training as how to operate the scheme and that instructions will be issued Monday night for garda\u00ed working from midnight on.<\/p>\n

Under the Health Referral Scheme, garda\u00ed can give a person caught in possession of drugs for personal use the option of a health intervention rather than being charged and brought before the courts.<\/p>\n

Garda\u00ed must be satisfied the drugs \u2014 in terms of the quantity and how the drugs are packaged \u2014 are for personal use, and not for supply. The person concerned also must accept the offence.<\/p>\n

The scheme, which had been called the Health Diversion Scheme for years, applies to all drugs and not just cannabis.<\/p>\n

It is voluntary and up to the person to contact the HSE. They will be given a Garda leaflet with relevant HSE contact details.<\/p>\n

The details of the person and offence will remain on Pulse, the Garda computer system. If the person is caught a second time, it will flag up the referral and the person will be charged and prosecuted as normal.<\/p>\n

The diversion scheme was recommended by an expert committee in July 2019, which suggested people caught with possession amounts could get a second chance if garda\u00ed decided it was appropriate.<\/p>\n

This was backed by the then government, which announced that August, proposals to implement the scheme and refer people for a health support.<\/p>\n

In July 2023, the Department of Health told the Citizens Assembly on Drugs (CAD) that the health end of the scheme was set up and ready to go.<\/p>\n

That September, the CAD chair Paul Reid strongly criticised the delay within the Department of Justice and called on politicians to \u201cstep up\u201d and introduce it.<\/p>\n

Support framework\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a statement over the weekend, the HSE said the health support is based on the Saor framework, which allows for screening and brief intervention for alcohol and substance use.<\/p>\n

\u201cAppointments with a Saor practitioner are available in-person, in a number of locations around the country, or online from anywhere in the country,\u201d the HSE said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are currently nine full-time staff in place to provide national coverage. Participation in the scheme is voluntary.\u201d The statement said the practitioner will explore substance use with the individual, discuss their support needs, and provide information.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere appropriate, the Saor practitioner may recommend onward referral to specialist services and supports close to where the person resides via the referral pathways that are in place,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Prof Eamon Keenan, HSE lead for Addiction Services, welcomed the scheme\u2019s belated introduction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how many people will be referred but we are geared up for 7,000 over the one-year pilot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Garda sources said there was no threshold amount, demarcating personal use from supply, and that garda\u00ed will use their experience and judgement and factor in both the quantity and how it was packaged.<\/p>\n

It is understood Garda HQ believe the scheme is relatively straightforward to operate and that training for garda\u00ed was not required.<\/p>\n

Cormac O\u2019Keeffe is Security Correspondent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The HSE is \u201cgeared up\u201d for around 7,000 people to be referred to it by garda\u00ed for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[27510,45,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-610333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-drugs-crisis","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}