We are writing to inform you that a new section of the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS) dedicated to drug related intimidation (DRI) is currently being developed and will be introduced by the end of the year. This development is a significant step forward in improving our understanding of DRI prevalence and trends in local communities, and throughout Ireland. The new questions, developed by experts in the field, will provide invaluable insights about the prevalence and impact of DRI on communities and will help inform service planning and policy development.

What does it mean for services and LINK users already participating in the NDTRS?
The DRI section is to be added to NDTRS/LINK as part of the larger Drug Related Intimidation and Violence Engagement (DRIVE) project. DRIVE is an interagency project, funded by the Department of Health, to respond to DRI and associated violence in Ireland. More information on DRIVE is available at https://driveproject.ie/.  The DRIVE project is overseen by representatives of the regional and local drug and alcohol task force coordinators network, HSE national addiction advisory governance group, national voluntary drug and alcohol sector, Garda national drugs and organised crime bureau and the probation service.

DRI impacts many people, under and over 18 years of age, including family members. It is important to ensure that all reported incidents of DRI are recorded in the NDTRS, both to better understand the situation and leverage funding for DRI-specific services in your area.

Next steps
If your service is currently providing supports to affected family members but you are not currently recording this on the NDTRS, please contact Georgia Brown (DRIVE data and research coordinator) by email at gbrown@hrb.ie for further information.

To support this new initiative, training materials will be provided (videos and documents) with additional on-line or in-person training as required by the NDTRS team once the new section goes live.