Dr. Helen McMonagle:

I will pick up on the Deputy's point about the 75% recovery rate associated with this condition. I would absolutely mirror his enthusiasm for investing in rehabilitation when outcomes such as that are possible for what is a serious and significant condition. In the absence of the input of rehabilitation, those issues are contributing significantly to the burden of homelessness. For example, a study in Scotland has shown that alcohol-related brain injury affects 21% of homeless hostel dwellers. It accounts for 10% of cases of dementia, and 12.5% of cases of dementia in people under the age of 65. It contributes significantly to delayed discharges at a hospital level. On the flip side of that, when financial and resource investments are made in multidisciplinary rehabilitation for this condition, between 75% and 85% of people can be living in the community. Hospital bed day usage can be reduced by 85%. Most significantly, the long-term relapse rate is only 10% when such an intensive multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation is taken. Anybody working in an addiction service or residential service will look at a 10% relapse rate and recognise it as a fantastic outcome, particularly for people towards the more complex end of the spectrum. There are very significant cost savings to be made when we invest in this area. The pay-offs are enormous, including for the quality of life for those affected as they go through their lives.