Debate contribution: Drug-testing Schemes

Debate contribution by Mr Mike Nesbitt on 30 September 2025.

MLA

Mr Mike Nesbitt

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

30 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Drug-testing Schemes

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5143300

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I thank those who tabled the motion and the amendment and everybody who has contributed to the debate. Let us pause and think about the human cost of what we are talking about. Clearly, the debate was sparked by events at summer festivals such as Emerge. The investigations are ongoing, so it remains unhelpful to speculate, but all our thoughts should be with the families and friends of those who were most affected and the loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives, no matter what the cause may turn out to be. I also acknowledge the pain of anyone who has lost a friend or family member to substance use. In 2023, we had 169 drug-related deaths and 341 alcohol-specific deaths. Those deaths were all preventable, and we need to recognise that they are driven by wider social, environmental and economic issues. To prove that point, here is a fact: substance use-related deaths are over five times higher in areas of greatest deprivation. That takes me to my passion of health inequalities. We have to work collectively across government to address not just the causes of health inequalities and substance use but their underlying drivers — in other words, the causes of the causes. It is not enough to say that substance use can cause severe physical and mental issues up to and including death. What causes people to use those substances in the first place? We have to do more to understand the causes of the causes. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) examined the personal, household and area characteristics associated with drug-related deaths. That NISRA report highlights the disproportionate impact of factors such as economic inactivity, poor housing, unemployment, disability, poor mental health and living alone on drug deaths. For example, unemployed males were more than twice as likely to die from drug-related deaths as employed males, and social housing residents accounted for 39·3% of deaths despite making up only 12·8% of the population. I acknowledge that, given the legal position of many of the drugs, what we are talking about can be a sensitive and controversial area, so it might be helpful to provide a brief overview of how the issue sits in our substance use strategy, 'Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery'. The strategy was agreed by the Executive and recognises the importance of reducing the availability of and access to illicit and illegal drugs. I acknowledge the strong collaborative work by the PSNI, the organised crime task force's drugs subgroup and the Department of Justice in that area. Think about the phrase "preventing harm". If you move from the purist position of saying, "All these substances are illegal, so it is purely a criminal justice matter to be led by the Police Service of Northern Ireland", you get into an area in which you are making judgement calls. If you want to prevent harm, do you provide services for people who are taking illegal substances? I believe that that is the right approach, but it is ultimately subjective. It is a judgement call, as I say. Harm reduction has become key to the Department's work. We deliver a number of harm reduction services including opioid substitution therapy; a needle and syringe exchange, which we are always seeking to expand and develop; take-home naloxone kits; low-threshold outreach services; and rapid drug disposal bins. The Public Health Agency also offers nitazene, fentanyl and xylazine testing strips at all needle exchange sites across Northern Ireland.

In addition, a number of years ago, as part of the needle and syringe exchange service (NSES) scheme, we worked with the UK Government to allow foil to be handed out, encouraging people to move away from injecting substances to inhaling them. That harm reduction method reduces the risk of blood-borne viruses or infections and discarded paraphernalia. From 1 April last year to 31 March this year, 3,829 packs of foil were dispensed across needle exchanges across Northern Ireland. At a recent four nations meeting on drugs held in Scotland, Scottish officials said, I believe, that, in one year, they handed out 400,000 foil dispensers to encourage people to smoke rather than to inject. That was about reducing harm. Most pertinent to today's debate is the drug and alcohol monitoring and information system known as "DAMIS". The system, which is operated by the Public Health Agency but overseen by a cross-departmental steering group, allows individuals including service users, peers, the PSNI, Forensic Science Northern Ireland, prisons, probation, treatment and support services and homeless service providers to submit information to a central contact about substances of concern. The information is considered and noted for prevalence information, or further information is sought or, indeed, alerts issued to those likely to come into contact with substance users who may be at risk of harm. Importantly, through DAMIS, we have the ability to proactively seek the testing of substances that are seen to cause harm. That comes up through our partnership working with the PSNI and Forensic Science NI. That information is used to inform related advice and alerts to service users, vulnerable groups and those in key services. I am aware of the outline proposal that has been put forward by Queen's University Belfast for a rapid drug-testing model, but I understand that there are still resourcing, licensing and operational queries with it and that further thought and consideration will be needed. It is important to note that, as it is currently set out, the proposal is not for a model for on-site testing at events such as festivals; instead, it is focused more on wider prevalence testing of drugs that are in circulation. The proposal is not just for my Department and the PHA to consider: there are enforcement issues for the PSNI and Justice colleagues, and conversations may also be required with local government colleagues. Operationally, any drug testing, be it on-site at festivals or off-site, would need to be subject to licensing by my Department. Any proposal and resulting application will need to demonstrate compliance with licensing requirements. I want a review of DAMIS to begin shortly, and the intention is to build on the existing testing infrastructure and consider regional needs for enhanced testing possibilities as part of that work. It is important that we understand the accuracy of any testing service. We do not want to give false positives or false negatives. In addition, any on-site testing would not address the issue of drugs that have been taken before people enter the sites. I understand that that has been an issue at such events. We have not properly acknowledged in the debate that on-site testing will not save the life of somebody who may have imbibed their substances before they got to the concert venue.

I thank the Member for his intervention. If he can bear with me, I will come to that later. It is a very important point. Any alert system is only as useful as the advice that it generates. I know from Assembly questions that concerns have been raised about the harm reduction advice that the PHA has provided before and after festivals. Mr Frew mentioned that when moving the amendment. The PHA takes a public health approach to the prevention and reduction of harms that are associated with substance use, enabling it to work with partners across Northern Ireland to promote key prevention messages that are sent to individuals, families and communities so that the population is as aware as it can be of the inherent dangers of substance use and can make informed choices. The messaging notes the health and legal risks of taking any illegal or illicit drug. However, the PHA also acknowledges the fact that illegal substances are available and that a proportion of the population actively use them. Therefore, the PHA's social media substance use messaging, alongside harm reduction advice, plays a critical supporting role as part of the overall prevention approach, enhancing public understanding of substance use and related risks, encouraging safe behaviours and facilitating community-led prevention efforts. We know that stigma can stop people from seeking help, so it is vital that we provide evidence-based information that people can use and that can support them to engage with services. That can and does save lives. The motion also calls for greater collaboration with the HSE in the Republic. We fully recognise that the issue knows no borders. What happens in Ireland, the UK, Europe and, indeed, around the world has clear implications for here. I therefore reassure Members that we work closely with our colleagues in Ireland, sharing information as appropriate; in fact, we will be meeting colleagues to get a better understanding of their Safer Nightlife programme, which includes testing at festivals in Ireland. PSNI colleagues also share information and take joint action with their counterparts through the joint task force. We also work closely with colleagues across the UK, and we share information and alerts where concerns exist. The Justice Minister and I recently met the four UK Ministers, as I said, and it was a helpful meeting to share learning and best practice and to look at where we can do more collectively. It is also important to be clear about what is available in this area across the UK and Ireland. The approaches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are different, and it is not fair to say that we are the only place across the UK and Ireland without a testing and alert system. As I have clearly set out, we can do that when required under DAMIS, and, while festival testing is undertaken in England and Ireland, I am not aware of it happening in Scotland or Wales. We can all learn, however, and we will continue to explore all available possibilities, including future cross-border and UK initiatives where they offer the potential to reduce harm. That will, of course, take resource. As yet, the substance use strategy is not fully funded. That is important, as the wider budget position means that we cannot fund any such development. Any resources would have to come from existing services that already support people in need. I will make a commitment, however, to ensure that our precious resources are used to best effect. This is not an issue for my Department to lead on in isolation: we need to work with our partners in Justice, the community and voluntary sector and local government and with people with lived and living experience of substance use to make a real difference. The question has arisen of whether, if testing were available on-site, that would encourage people not to indulge in substance use until they got there. That would depend very much on what type of testing we put in place. Are we talking about somebody giving a sample of their substance to be tested in real time and being given a result there and then? That is one thing, but it might be difficult to achieve. Alternatively, is it more about issuing a more general warning, perhaps on big screens, to concertgoers that a certain substance is in circulation and people need to be wary of it? We really need to tease that out. If it were the former, where you might be saying to somebody, "The substance that you had me test is OK for you to take", that would raise an ethical issue, a moral issue and a legal issue. It would also raise an issue about possible false negatives and false positives. There is a lot of consideration yet to be given to that issue.

1,935 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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