Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle listening to what I had to say because I find such treatment frustrating.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report on drug treatment and rehabilitation services was damning about the way in which funding for these services has been cut back. The number of people using cannabis and cocaine here has increased out of all proportion. We have an epidemic on our hands, yet the Minister of State has cut the funding for the local drug task forces and the national advisory committee by 20% and 23%, respectively. People are waiting for beds for detox treatment. Some have been waiting a year for such treatment and some have been waiting even longer for services.

A new drugs strategy will be published shortly. It will be a glossy document and I discussed such documents earlier in regard to the Irish language. A big press announcement on it will be made by the Minister of State and his colleagues advising the people that the Government will tackle the drugs problems, yet at the same time the budgets allocated to the people who deal with this problem have been cut back. Has he had meetings with the Minister for Finance in this regard? There is a serious budget coming up in December and he will be announcing these strategies, but we already have cutbacks. Is there any point in announcing the strategies if the Minister is not going to put the funding in place?

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