Mr. Tony Geoghegan:

The short answer is "No". Dr. Eamon Keenan is involved in drug treatment from the HSE perspective and would say that waiting lists still exist for treatment. Access to treatment in different parts of the country is highly problematic. We do not have the resources to provide the treatment that is necessary. Agencies like ours have to fund-raise in order to provide our detox services. Ours is one of the few residential detox services in the State. My overall view, based on my years of experience, is that addiction is part of the human condition. There are certainly many arguments within the field as to whether it is a disease or a socially-learned behaviour. I do not think it makes that much difference given that we are not going to find a magic cure whereby one will give someone a tablet which will instantly cure his or her addiction. It is about how we as a society manage it. If one is engaged with people and can try to deal with them on a human level in a health and social care setting, one will have more success than by criminalising people, which is unhelpful. That is not to condone drug use. I recognise like everybody that some people use drugs without gaining problems in the same way as some people have an occasional cigarette. All drugs have the potential for harm, however. It is better to deal with them within a support and social care setting rather than in a criminal justice setting.