Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ivan Cooper, the CEO of The Wheel, recently talked about that service. He said that having lost 40% to 50% of its staff in the last year alone, it is struggling to find experienced people to replace those who have moved on. Less experienced staff cannot reasonably handle as much work as experienced employees or provide care to the same high standard, so the service is forced to reduce the number of individuals it can provide care for or risk a serious fall-off in the quality of that care. We are talking about some of the most vulnerable people who need help and support and need a service, but it is operating with 40% to 50% of the staff and it cannot provide that service with less experienced staff. As somebody who is involved in a community drugs team which will be looking to recruit staff over the coming months, I find it deeply worrying that not just addiction services but services for homeless people, disability services and services right across the board are struggling desperately. I again urge the Minister of State to raise this issue. It needs to be sorted at a cross-governmental level and it needs to be sorted quickly. These services are for people who are the most vulnerable in our society and they need that help and support.

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