Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Ryan referred to being involved in a drugs task force in the 2000s. I was a board member of the board of a local drugs task force at that time. The budgets of such task forces have probably not increased since 2000. That is one of the problems they are facing. A drugs task force may wish to provide, for example, some sort of mental health service or dual diagnosis service, but if that is not specified in its service level agreement with the HSE, it is restricted from implementing its wishes They are trying to fight with one hand tied behind their back. As a result of budget constraints, when something new comes in, something else must go out.

A report from the child care law reporting project, which mainly relates to children being taken into care, came to my attention yesterday. It involved a heartbreaking case of a girl who was admitted to a psychiatric unit as a result of a serious eating disorder. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, her parents were not permitted to have face-to-face contact with her during her stay in the inpatient unit. Access was only possible using Skype. In court, her father agreed that his daughter was getting the right care in the right place and needed to be there, but he also emphasised how stressful the lack of face-to-face contact was in the context of the family relationship and for him as a father supporting his daughter during her stay. What protocols are being put in place to allow the resumption of face-to-face contact in order that families in such situations can at least see each other during these very difficult and challenging times?