Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are very welcome. It is positive to hear it reiterated that An Garda Síochána will support a health-led approach and that this approach will potentially - and hopefully in my view - be very different from the one proposed by the Department.

It is not a health-led approach, as it is understood in terms of decriminalisation, from a legislative perspective. Policing or user policy obviously will have to change if there are legislative changes. Across Mr. Kelly's 32-year career, have other parts of policing developed in terms of having public health approaches to policing? In respect of mental health, psychosis and so on, have other types of policing evolved over the years that could feed into the trajectory of policing moving more towards being underpinned by public health? Have other policy areas existed over the years?