Ms Aileen Malone:

Any of the people that I know who have faced drug-related intimidation have not gone to DRIVE. They do not know about it. People only hear of DRIVE if a person's loved one is availing of services or links in with services. Personally, I know people who have borrowed huge sums of money from their credit union to pay off debts. I know somebody who sold their house and is now living in a little shed in their other child's back garden. It is a huge problem.

We held a conference in Dundalk and that time 53% of people said that they were under extreme financial stress and suffering drug-related intimidation. There is a huge cohort of people and family members whose loved ones are not availing of services or not linking in with services and, therefore, they do not know about DRIVE. They do not know that there are supports and help available to them. So we are failing those people because always, and even with children, with families, we are tending to link the children and families with the person who is in addiction. However, unless the person who is in addiction is availing of services then those children and families are getting lost.