Mr. Shane Hamilton:

I will respond regarding the approach that might be missing some elements that we might not see through traditional drug treatment responses. This is more relevant than ever due to the crack cocaine issue. If we just wait for people to present to JADD, for example, to receive drug treatment to help reduce or stop their crack cocaine use, we will get a very small proportion of the crack cocaine users in. It needs to involve a public health response. It needs to reduce the harm within the community. It needs to reduce the spread of blood-borne viruses which are leading to the deterioration of health in the community. It certainly needs to involve that.

We need a multifaceted approach. There is considerable growth in the need for case management. We need to facilitate multiple agencies working with those very vulnerable individuals at the centre of this. We cannot expect the individual to co-ordinate very complex mediation services and tenancy-sustainment issues while dealing with intimidation and poverty that might exist in the home. There are serious challenges. We need to be front and centre with the individuals to ensure we reduce harm, not just to the individual but to the family and community as a whole. Any approach to this needs to have that. We still do not know the full extent of this issue.

We have been doing an assertive outreach programme targeting individuals. For every ten individuals we meet, we find five new individuals. We have staff who have been working in the middle of Jobstown for over 20 years. They are going five minutes up the road to these new housing estates that have been built in the past 15 years. They never met these individuals before. They are not connected to any other harm-reduction services. There not aware of what JADD has done. These people are using drugs paraphernalia. They have no support or advice. They are living in homes where very vulnerable people are. We need a considered and compassionate approach that is multifaceted. We cannot always wait for them to come in and want to make changes. We need to get out there and help them. We need to ensure we reduce the harm.

Children need to be front and centre in this. We cannot forget that children are part of this issue and the solution must also involve them. Destigmatisation needs to happen. We cannot be using any terminology that makes individuals afraid to come forward when they want help. People want help and support. This year we ran a summer project in partnership with the task force, Barnardos and Tusla because we had access to the most vulnerable families and children in those families. The reason they came to that summer project was because they had a relationship with the drugs services.

We were trying to promote that to connect with Foróige and youth services to make sure we were on the first step to get them into the right services. We need to start modernising the language. It is not just treatment and prevention. It is treatment, prevention, early detection and interventions.