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British-Irish Council – Annual Report – 2012
Summit Meetings
The British-Irish Council met three times at Summit level in 2012 including in Dublin
(Ireland), Stirling (Scotland) and Cardiff (Wales).
British-Irish Council Summit, Dublin, Ireland – January 2012
The 17th Summit of the Council was held in Dublin on 13th January 2012 having been
postponed from November 2011 and was chaired by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD. The
British-Irish Council focused on the misuse of drugs and youth employment. A summary of
the discussions and conclusions is outlined below.
Misuse of Drugs: Recovery from Problem Drug Use
The Council welcomed and discussed the paper on Recovery from Problem Drug Use,
which had been prepared by the Council’s work sector on the Misuse of Drugs. Ministers
discussed drug treatment measures and strategies that have been put in place in Member
Administrations to facilitate the path of recovery. Ministers discussed the need for a more
ambitious approach to involving individual care plans and inter-agency working to better
address the holistic needs of clients. The Council also noted the Misuse of Drugs work sector’s
commitment to include a renewed focus on recovery from drug dependence in any future
drugs strategies. The Council agreed that Member Administrations would actively encourage
the renewed focus on recovery and work together to evaluate and share successful approaches.
Youth Employment
Ministers discussed youth employment outlining the related challenges in their respective
administrations, the factors which influence its rise, and explored policy implications for
each Member Administration in dealing with this problem. Heads of Member Administration
shared details of the initiatives which they had introduced to reduce youth unemployment
levels within their own jurisdiction. The Council agreed to continue to focus on youth
employment, to explore how best this might be advanced through the Council, and that the
impact of initiatives in respect of youth employment would be reported on at the next Summit.