The Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy will be in London today, to air his support of medically supervised injecting centres here.
Aodhan Ó'Riordán will deliver a keynote address at an international event at the London School of Economics.
The conference will focus on discussions around new drug policies for Ireland the UK.
The Junior Minister has previously insisted he has political support for proposals to introduce supervised injection centres.
He argues that legislation here criminalises drug addicts, instead of targeting pushers.
Ó'Riordán has said: "It should be a civil matter if you are found with a personal supply of drugs, for short-term use, as it is in Portugal".
Portugal adopted a new policy on drug use in 2001, under which drug addiction was reclassified as a health issue rather than a criminal one.
The new rules effectively de-criminalised the holding of a 10 day supply of drugs for personal use.
Research from the Cato Institute in the US failed to show a drop in Portugese drug use rates after the policy was reduced, but HIV rates, deaths and sexually transmitted diseases all fell.
