Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, 16 May 2026
A chairde,
It is an honour to be here today as a Minister as we celebrate 100 years of Fianna Fáil.
Fianna Fáil has always been the party of community. Supporting families and strengthening communities is at the heart of everything that we do across Government and in our centenary year it is a real honour for me to contribute to this proud legacy.
As Minister with responsibility for the National Drug Strategy and Public Health and Wellbeing I wanted to update you on just some of the work that is ongoing in my remit.
It has been 10 years since a National Drug Strategy was drafted and I am currently working to finalise a new strategy. It recently went out for public consultation and I hope to bring a finalised strategy to Government in July.
It was important to me that we heard from as many people as possible before completing this strategy. The harms caused by drugs affects families and communities in every part of Ireland and responding to this needs a whole of society response.
Addiction does not just affect the person. It affects entire families and I want to see family support services strengthened because I know the toll that caring for someone in active addiction can take on a family.
We also need a big focus on prevention so our young people are empowered with knowledge and confidence in a world where drug use is growing and where there are so many new substances and emerging trends.
You have probably heard of the synthetic cannabinoid HHC. These substances carry real and unpredictable risks, particularly for young people. We have made HHC illegal, alongside 14 other similar substances but we have to be alert as new drugs emerge constantly. It is important that families have all of the information as well as the confidence to talk to their children about drugs.
The crime associated with drugs causes real harm in our communities. Drug related intimidation unfortunately affects many people every day, with families often faced with threats, violence and demands for huge sums of money.
I launched the DRIVE campaign alongside Minister Jim O’Callaghan last year in order to shine a light on this problem. Too often those impacted feel completely alone but the DRIVE project is helping them to link in with Gardaí and support services in their own community.
Protecting the health of our children is a key priority of Fianna Fáil and that is why I am currently bringing two Bills through the Oireachtas and I hope to have both passed by the end of the year.
Firstly, we are banning single-use vapes. These are a blight on our environment.
The second Bill will ban the display of vapes in shops and all flavours except for tobacco and non-flavoured vapes, as well as making packaging and colours much less appealing to children.
This Bill will also regulate products like nicotine pouches and any other nicotine product that comes on the market.
Unfortunately we have to keep pace with a tobacco industry that is constantly introducing new products and Ireland is moving ahead of many other EU countries on this.
I also recently launched a vaping prevention campaign aimed at young people and you may have heard the radio ads or have seen the ads on social media. In Budget 2026 I was delighted to secure €500k for this campaign.
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance and can have damaging impacts on brain development. Fianna Fáil has a proud record in tackling the harms caused by cigarettes. The new laws on vapes will carry on the proud tradition of the smoking ban in protecting our children’s health and ensuring that a new generation is not hooked on nicotine.
Supporting health and wellbeing is a huge part of our work in supporting communities. People are living longer and we want to help them stay active and stay connected in their communities for as long as possible. Through Healthy Ireland I am delighted to support so many fantastic initiatives in our local communities.
We are supporting Men’s Sheds and the Sheds for Life programme that promotes positive mental health among shed members. In Budget 2026 I was also delighted to secure funding for Women’s Sheds and I attended their launch on International Women’s Day in Tullamore.
We are also supporting parkrun. It is growing in popularity all the time, with free, weekly events that bring people together, encouraging physical activity for all ages and abilities and in all weather. If you haven’t had the chance to check out your local parkrun I would really encourage you to do so. They are such positive events and a real example of community spirit in action.
Our Walking Tracks initiative also provides funding for sports clubs to install walking and running tracks in their facilities and this year I secured €1 million euro for this initiative. GAA, soccer and rugby clubs will have the opportunity to apply, and I have asked that disability access features heavily in the criteria for funding.
There are so many other wonderful initiatives happening including Healthy Food Made Easy which helps families prepare nutritious meals on a budget and helps to equip them with the knowledge to make good choices for them and their children.
I want to thank you all for your time today delegates and I also want to acknowledge the work of my colleagues, Minister Butler and Dooley. I look forward to taking part in the discussion today and I hope you all enjoy the Ard Fheis.