Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 3 October 2024

Committee on Drugs Use

A Health-Led Approach: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Mr. Eddie Mullins:

I am conscious of what the Deputy said with regard to the rural aspect of west Clare. The key workers at one of our support services in the midlands, for example, meet the clients where the clients are. They travel around the counties of Westmeath, Meath, Laois and Offaly to meet the clients. That might be in a primary healthcare centre or a GP's office.

Ana Liffey and Coolmine also replicate that service in the region. There are services. They may not be established in the local community but GPs can refer them to the likes of ourselves or other organisations where the key worker can go and meet the client. For people who feel isolated, the GP is the first port of call in accessing services.

The Deputy mentioned housing. It is clear that the biggest barrier to continued recovery is stable accommodation. When somebody who has completed a detox or recovery programme is back into unstable accommodation in an environment were drugs are prevalent and where the temptations, to use an old Catholic word for want of a better one, are there, it makes it even more difficult for that person to sustain the recovery journey that he or she is on. We would always say that one of the most critical aspects of a recovery programme is access to good suitable and stable accommodation where a person can rebuild his or her life and reconnect with the old life he or she may have had before the addiction took hold.

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