Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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I think I have met many of the witnesses and visited many of their services over the last couple of months. The only way we really know what is happening on the ground is by doing that, along with today's meeting. I welcome all our witnesses. An Teachta Devine mentioned the recovery event last week and many here participated in it, which was a really positive event. What was most important, and it has been brought up here today, was for us to listen to the lived experience of the people who spoke. I have read through all of the presentations today in detail. I will only ask a few, generic questions.

From meeting the witnesses and their presentations today, what struck me is how important family support and peer support groups are to recovery. That should be central to any policy and the strategy that is forthcoming. The State cannot hand-pick individuals with lived experience that it finds palatable, as I think Mr. O'Hara said, and I 100% agree with him - it might have been Mr. Slattery. That is true right across the board. The voices of those affected by drug use need to be listened to and also considered as part of the strategy and the work of this group.

A lot of the visits I have been on and the feedback I am getting from groups, even from here today, is about funding. Unfortunately, we do not have a role in funding and we will not be making a presentation on the budget next week. I have advocated in the Dáil for multi-annual budgets for everybody and we may include something in the final report but we will not be looking for money in the budget. We cannot and it is not part of our remit. That is just something to be conscious of. In that vein, I want to hear from all the witnesses or anybody who wants to speak on it about how this committee can support their work and ensure their experience is reflected in policy. At the end of the day, that is what will change things. It will be policy driven and I am a firm believer in practice to policy, where the experience of the projects and the people the witnesses work with is reflected in Government policy and practice. That is how we will improve things from the point of view of this Government.

What can we do to get you involved in policy development? How can we ensure that services are delivered outside the Dublin area? This is something that has come up quite broadly. There is a huge number of groups where there is really nothing available for people who are suffering. The idea that drugs only exist in Dublin is crazy. Every single village and town is affected. Finally, on women in addiction, how can we encourage and improve their access to services? Many of them will not or cannot go because they are afraid their kids will be taken off them if they access services. In other cases, they are shoved into prostitution to raise money, maybe for a family member, to feed their habit. Those are three brief questions. I could have a hundred more. If any of our guests want to contact my office, please, feel free to do so.