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

That is fantastic. I thank the witnesses. I have been on my phone trying frantically to push out my next meeting so I could stay here and listen to them. Meetings like this and the information we get from them are like gold dust. As has been mentioned, we are the legislators and we can go out to make the necessary changes to make the lives of the witnesses easier in meeting the needs of the communities they serve.

Without getting into too much detail, I will touch on the criminalisation and deregulation aspects briefly. I do not know if Deputy Gino Kenny is still on the call but I represent the same area and he knows from where he is coming. What was said will not fix the problems that the communities are currently experiencing. There are parts of my community experiencing trauma and they feel abandoned by a lack of visibility of gardaí. There are people selling their homes because they cannot live there any more but they cannot complete the sales because people coming to view the properties are being intimidated. Parts of our community need enough visible community policing to solve these problems and allow people to breathe. At that stage, by all means, we can have a debate around criminalisation and deregulation.

Any high-level criminal putting drugs into the hands of a 10-year-old or 11-year-old to make themselves rich must be criminalised. Legislation must be brought in for this.

The Rutland Centre is not too far from my area and I know a few people who went through that organisation. They always spoke well of it. A line from Mr. Cooney's opening statement caught my eye, when he stated "It is also important to mention that the past 18 months have also noticeably brought a growing number of more complex cases among those presenting for help due to the closure of services elsewhere." Will the witnesses expand on that? Do any of these cases relate to eating disorders, as I know the group works with people who have eating disorders? My office has been contacted by many people crying out for help and seeking services for eating disorders.