Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. I am not from Tallaght or Dublin; I am from Galway but am not naive enough to think there are not drugs issues in Galway city and rural areas. I know of good people who have, unfortunately, ended up with issues.

Ms Quigley said there is a meeting on Friday of the national oversight committee which would be chaired by the Minister of State ordinarily, if I am correct, and that it is intended at that stage to remove the community and voluntary network. I suggest we need to approach the Minister of State or the officials in the Department in advance of that. Ms Quigley says no rationale or explanation has been given but Departments always have to have a reason and be able to explain why they propose something. What reasons are they giving as to why this is being done? Presumably Ms Quigley can counter that view.

As time is short, I open the next question up to whoever. There is treatment versus prevention. The drugs budget has gone up by €6 million but in terms of prevention there are issues like housing, education, apprenticeships, sport recreation the need for gardaí, particularly community gardaí, and employment issues. In treating addiction and hoping for full recovery, those issues are important. Are these resources lacking? We know about the housing issue and, unfortunately, could talk about that all day. In terms of the other areas mentioned, are they lacking in the witnesses' area? Could additional investment help stop people, particularly younger people, going down the route of drug addiction?