Irish Govt’s drugs strategy edges towards decriminalisation

Ireland’s new three-year strategy for tackling drug-taking involves turning a blind eye to first-time offenders in its new ‘harm reduction’ approach.

Under the National Drugs Strategy 2026-30, the Government has committed to a “firmly health-led” approach to drug use, which will prioritise “health supports over criminal sanctions”, and states that emphasis will be placed on prevention and treatment.

At the beginning of September, the Garda began diverting people found in possession of any illegal drug for personal use for the first time away from the criminal justice system to health services. Participation in the ‘Health Referral Scheme’ is voluntary and offenders face no sanction for non-attendance.

‘Depenalisation’

The strategy document states that people who use drugs “are at high risk of coming into contact with the criminal justice system” and “having a criminal record can have an impact on lifetime opportunities for people”.

Consequently, the Government said it is committed to expanding “policy alternatives to criminal sanctions for personal possession offences”, and it welcomed “depenalisation for a first offence” via the Health Referral Scheme as an appropriate alternative.

As part of its pledge to deliver “equitable access” to drug services, it also commissioned the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive to “explore the establishment of additional supervised injection facilities in areas of need”.

The first Government-sanctioned ‘shooting gallery’, where users can take drugs without fear of prosecution, opened in Dublin last year, and further prosecution-free zones are already being considered for Cork and Limerick.