Mr. Mick Devine:

I thank the committee for the invitation to address it today. Since 1989, Tabor Group has been providing support and care to hundreds of people from all backgrounds and circumstances. We welcome people from all over Ireland. We are based in Cork. We offer residential treatment services and community-based addiction treatment programmes to men and women over the age of 18 who are struggling with addiction to alcohol, drugs and gambling. We have two residential addiction treatment centres. Tabor Lodge is situated in Belgooly, close to Kinsale. We offer a primary residential treatment programme there. At Tabor Fellowship treatment centre in Cork city, we offer a new programme, the integrated recovery treatment programme, which I will expand on later.

Providing practical support to families and loved ones of clients who are in treatment is a cornerstone of Tabor Group’s approach. We provide this through our dedicated family support service. We have a continuing care programme for people who have been discharged from residential programmes that provides ongoing treatment and support to clients that have completed treatment programmes and are learning to cope with the demands of day-to-day living and the management of their addiction.

In addition to this we are also developing community-based treatment programmes. That is a relatively new initiative intended to reach out to people whose need for treatment is not sufficiently severe or demanding to require access to the programmes offered in the residential settings.

Treatment programmes at Tabor Group all have the following features: they are all client focused and trauma informed, and they adhere to national protocols, including the HSE national protocols for drug and alcohol services. We have a variety of treatment approaches, all of which are person centred and include person-centred counselling, 12-step facilitation, motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behaviour counselling and mindfulness-based practices. The treatment programmes are supported by the HSE with an annual service level agreement and by all the major health insurers. Tabor Group is accredited by CHKS and has achieved ISO 9001 certification.

In 2021, we received more than 1,000 calls from people seeking support. We completed more than 300 initial assessments and admitted more than 200 people to our two treatment service centres. On average, we get five calls a week from family members and loved ones who are seeking support. In 2021, 16 people attended our new community-based programme and four of them went on to attend residential programmes.

Alcohol continues to be the main challenge for those seeking help from Tabor Group. In 2021, 49% of the people who were admitted to our programme cited alcohol as the main substance of addiction. We are seeing continued growth in the numbers presenting with poly-addiction, which involves addiction to many substances. Alcohol is usually central but illicit substances are part of the addiction profile of more people attending for treatment, especially those aged between 18 and 35. Last year, 32% of those who accessed treatment at Tabor Group said alcohol and other substances comprised the profile of their addictions. Many of our people also have mental health challenges. We talk about dual diagnosis programmes. Tabor Group will be a part of the roll-out of dual diagnosis programmes which are rolling out in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4 this year.

Tabor Group has shown great resilience over the past two years in coping with the global pandemic. With commitment and resolve, we continue to serve our clients. We did more than just weather the storm. As for others, Covid-19 presented significant challenges for the organisation but thanks to the staff, volunteers and funders of Tabor Group, including the HSE, Pobal, the Probation Service, Cork City Council and others, we rose to the challenges. Working together and with support from the Mercy Hospital in Cork, we were able to keep our residential treatment services open and Covid-free.

Over the years, Tabor has continued to evolve and develop its services to meet the changing needs of people. Following extensive research, planning and preparation, and under the leadership of our senior counsellor, Mr. Con Cremin, in 2021 we introduced and completed the first full year of our integrated recovery programme at Tabor Fellowship. This is a milestone for the Tabor Group. It involves us offering a 12-week residential programme that is open to both men and women who have complex needs, including mental health challenges, poly-addiction, cross-addiction and a history of previous treatment and relapse, as well as challenges relating to coping and living skills. A younger profile of people are accessing this treatment programme. Accommodation needs are also a strong feature of people requesting help from this programme.

We have developed a treatment manual which outlines every aspect of the service we deliver in our programmes. We are also developing new policies in response to emerging client needs.

In the last couple of years, we have forged a partnership with the adult continuing education department at University College Cork, UCC, to deliver a certificate in continuing professional development, CPD, in responding to problem gambling. We have also partnered with other UCC departments, namely, the department of applied psychology, department of public health and epidemiology, and department of adult continuing education, as well as Munster Technological University's department of social science, to provide teaching inputs on their programmes and joint research projects. We are in the process of developing a Tabor Group research agenda at the moment in partnership with these institutions and others.

Tabor Group is embedded in the local community in Cork and in the HSE community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4 area. We enjoy excellent working relations with the HSE drug and alcohol services under the leadership of Mr. David Lane. An annual section 39 service level agreement has been in place for several years. Tabor Group is an active member of the Cork local and southern regional drug and alcohol task forces. We work closely in partnership with community-based hubs, which refer clients to our services for treatment. We work together with other agencies for effective case management so that people do not fall through the cracks, particularly when they have completed their residential treatment episode.

Nationally, Tabor Group is committed to playing its part in achieving the strategic priorities of the national drug and alcohol strategy entitled Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery 2017-2025. We contribute to the objectives of enhancing access to services, developing integrated care pathways and responding to the needs of disadvantaged communities and those with drug-related offences. We are also committed to evidence-informed and outcome-focused practice.

Tabor Group seeks to be at the forefront in the development of effective drug and alcohol services to meet the emerging and complex needs of clients and their families. Central to this is the development of evidence-based, trauma-informed addiction treatment addressing the complex needs of those struggling with addiction in a safe, residential and community environment through programmes delivered by trained and registered counsellors and psychotherapists. Tabor Group seeks to be a learning community where research and training for the next generation of practitioners in the field of drug and alcohol services goes hand in hand with offering excellent and effective treatment support for a growing number of people and their families. I thank members for their time. We look forward to hearing from members of the committee and responding to any questions they have.