Rural Household Budget--Feasibility Study. General Research Series Paper No. 61, May 1971

The consumer price index in Ireland is based on household budget inquiries carried out in urban areas only. Such an index is very useful for many purposes but it would be desirable to have in addition a rural price index together with an overall index reflecting expenditure patterns in both rural and urban areas. In order to establish the weighting system for such indices, it would be necessary to carry out rural household budget inquiries on a scale not so far attempted in this country. Such surveys could of course be used to obtain information on many facets of rural life other than family expenditure. In particular, they could be used to obtain income data for rural households including information on non-farm income and its sources

Review of the poverty proofing process.

This report was prepared in response to a request to the National Economic and Social Council by the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs (DSCFA), on behalf of the Inter- Departmental policy committee which provides the central strategic focus for the National Anti-Poverty Strategy. The request to the Council, in February 2000, was to carry out a review of these poverty proofing arrangements. This was a unique exercise for the Council, but fits well with two other reports currently being prepared by the Council: Benchmarking the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and National Progress Indicators for Sustainable Economic, Social and Environmental Development. Each of these has been prepared in response to mandates in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and explicitly directed at improving information for policy and facilitating evidence-based policy making. This review also contributes to those objectives. The concluding recommendations are made in the knowledge that action directed towards achieving the effective functioning of the policy proofing process will have positive policy consequences for people living in poverty or at risk of poverty, but will also have broader positive consequences for the practice of evidence-based decision making

The methadone handbook. Special edition for Ireland.

This handbook contains information for those who are on, or are considering a methadone prescription

Pharmaceutical services for patients in methadone treatment in Ireland and the introduction of the Methadone Protocol Scheme.

This research project set out to examine, the extent and nature of pharmaceutical services for patients in methadone treatment in Ireland before and after the introduction of the MPS. It examines this from the perspective of both service providers and service users, using both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. A postal survey undertaken among all community pharmacies in the southern sectors of the EHB region eight months prior to the introduction of the MPS showed that 29% of respondents were dispensing methadone. A second postal survey of community pharmacies who dispensed methadone 1mg/ml, which was undertaken two months before the introduction of the MPS, showed that 36% of all community pharmacies dispensing methadone 1mg/ml in Ireland were supervising dose consumption on-site. A third postal survey among community pharmacies participating in the MPS six months after its introduction found on-site supervision in 48% of responding pharmacies. A longitudinal analysis of the responses of those involved in the multiple community pharmacy surveys showed a fall in the mean number of patients per pharmacy following the introduction of the MPS and an increase in the provision of on-site supervision. A retrospective study of the queries handled by the liaison pharmacy service in the two southern sectors of the EHB region over a one-year period encompassing the introduction of the MPS showed that the service was widely utilised, managing queries from a number of disciplines on a variety of diverse issues. The first ever qualitative investigation of Irish users' view of pharmaceutical services under the MPS was carried out. Its findings indicated that patients recognised the value of on-site supervision in some circumstances, but emphasised the importance of providing adequate privacy throughout the supervision process, particularly in the community pharmacy setting. Respondents described individualised dosing routines and identified a number of difficulties associated with taking their methadone at home

Non-attendance at counselling therapy in cocaine-using methadone-maintained patients: lessons learnt from an abandoned randomised controlled trial.

Background: Recently, the authors commenced a randomised controlled trial to study the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural coping skills (CBCS) to reduce cocaine usage in methadone-maintained patients’ in a clinical setting by assessing attendance at treatment sessions and outcomes in terms of cocaine use. However, recruitment into the study stopped when it became apparent that attendance at counselling sessions was poor. Aims: The aim of the current study was to determine the reasons for both non-attendance and attendance from a patient’s perspective at counselling sessions. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed whereby participants who were recruited for the original study were interviewed utilising a semi-structured interview format. Results: Motivational inconsistencies were most frequently cited as the reason for dropping out of counselling, whereas a good relationship with staff was cited by attenders as the most important factors which aided their attendance at counselling sessions. Conclusions: Selecting opiate-dependent methadonemaintained cocaine abusers on the basis of their urine toxicology and offering them counselling as a way of reducing their harmful drug use did not prove efficacious. Attempting to address cocaine misuse within this cohort may need a more stepped approach including brief interventions, such as motivational interviewing, or other enhancers of motivation before we can test the effectiveness of CBCS in this population