Mr. John Paul Collins:

I wanted to respond to a question asked by Deputy Crowe. For anyone who does not remember the Copping On project and the training that followed it in the late nineties, there are a few things I want to say. With regard to Mr. Perth's response, resources are one thing. This is not our first rodeo in terms of committees such as this one and trying to influence legislative change because there is a need. Resources can only do so much. Legislative change and a new approach are needed because the status quo is not working and it has not worked for many years in the work we do. Targeted approaches are needed. We are workers on the ground and we know what works. We need support to row in behind us in terms of legislative change and resourcing it to make it happen, as such.

I want to come back to Deputy Crowe on how normalised drug use is becoming within the community, particularly within the Traveller community. As I said earlier, there is drug use at a level that has not been there before, particularly among females within the community. A key role has not been seen to an extent in terms of drug-dealing within the Traveller community on halting sites which is linked to very prominent mainstream gangs. Along with that comes a high level of drug-related intimidation. There is a number of things that need to be done. Resources, of course, is one of them, but how those resources are used in terms of trying to develop responses to the issues on the ground is key. As I said earlier, the status quo is not working.