Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 10 October 2024

Committee on Drugs Use

A Health-Led Approach: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Ms Fiona Wright:

There are services involved. Obviously, the HSE and the Department of Health are involved. The City of Dublin ETB and the Probation Service are there also. There are elements of services in place already and our staff are very committed to that. While our staff are trauma-informed, they are clearly not therapists or counsellors by any means. To answer the Deputy's question, we definitely could do with more of those resources. Ideally, at the drug treatment court of the future, we would see those services in place to help support the candidates who are participating in the programme. While we have some supports available, we could definitely do with more. This is where the multi-agency approach and getting the HSE, the Department of Heath and the Department of Finance involved is important. Many different agencies could be involved to bring those extra resources about.