Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

She has made very sensible proposals and I am anxious to embrace them. The scale and nature of the drug problem in Ireland is evolving. It is not a constant issue. There are issues we now need to begin to address again. When I was the Minister for Health, a very long time ago, the issue of providing injecting heroin users with methadone was first highlighted. I am not sure this is a permanent solution. I should not speak without discussing it with the Minister for Health, but there are issues we need to begin to re-address.

With regard to resources, it is an area we have identified in the most recent budget, and an additional €2.1 million has been allocated to the HSE for social inclusion programmes which will deal with a number of addiction programmes, including the provision of detox beds. We need to get a situation where people who want to detox are provided with the facilities to do so.

My next point is related to the other issue of homelessness. Many people were surprised to know, when the homelessness summit was called and all of the organisations were called in, that 37 different organisations are involved in dealing with the issue of homelessness. A huge range of bodies deal with the drugs issue but there is not a great deal of co-ordination. Something that should come out of addressing it in a holistic way is to have much better co-ordination between bodies providing services in order that their common awareness, facilities and understanding of the problems can be brought to bear. The specific suggestions Deputy O'Sullivan has made will certainly be brought to the attention of the Minister.

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