Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

We must tackle this issue seriously. This is another new policy area that must be examined and questioned.

I refer to the lack of urgency. While I do not have time to go into all the facts and figures, the Government's sense of urgency and commitment to tackling this problem is missing. People have been obliged to wait for 19 months to receive methadone treatment. We have 30 treatment beds for those who wish to get off drugs completely. Although the Sinn Féin Members mentioned 22 beds, I will increase their figures slightly to 30 beds. A total of 30 beds with which to get people off drugs is not good enough and hardly constitutes a success.

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