Ms Paula Leonard:

I might pick up on a couple of the other points that were raised previously as they relate to the Deputy's points. In the recommendations we talked about many of the people who are appearing today being in the crisis intervention and service delivery spaces and dealing with the size and magnitude of the issues that are impacting families and individuals. The Deputy asked about what needs to happen. If we circle back to what Deputy Gino Kenny said, we recognise that there is a need for an informed debate that is based on research and good evidence and that is not based on opinion or strong belief. We need investment in youth work and the restitution of youth work budgets to at least what they were in 2018. The guests from the Rutland Centre have also emphasised the need for investment in family supports and any step-down care and after-care, which are essential. We have talked a lot about the impact on the individuals who are struggling with dependency and on the people who live around them, the people who love them and the people who care for them, and I am glad we did so. We know there is great potential if we support families. People have a right to recovery in their own right but families can also motivate their loved ones towards recovery and support them on that journey.

The UN has described the impact the Covid pandemic has had on children as perhaps being even more significant than the impact the pandemic itself has had in the coming years at a global, health and well-being level. We do not yet know what those outcomes will be but we know that children in homes where there are pressures, such as poverty, social exclusion and dependency, live under huge pressure every day. They have done so for a long period; we are 18 months into this pandemic. We need investment in children, youth work and family support. That needs to be a specialised family support that understands addiction. That is important and I know a lot of the people here today understand the work that goes on in that area.