Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On that point, it cannot all be just about money either. Let us not get caught up in figures. If we can keep people out of the criminal justice system and divert that money into rehabilitation and treatment services, that is all well and good. However, we must also realise that at the centre of all of this is an individual who may have a chronic addiction and that addiction could actually lead to a loss of life. We should not just focus on how much it costs, in terms of treatment programmes and so forth. We must look at it from a humane perspective as well. That is why we must move to a public health focus rather than a criminal justice focus.