Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and note that I had a call from the HSE on this matter. It is important that we learn from this case. The lesson is about joined-up thinking. There has to be cohesion between HSE addiction services, The Drug Treatment Centre Board, primary care and homeless services, the family, and, if involved, the solicitor, particularly if it is a person who is at high risk and everyone knows it.

There probably is a need for a centralised database because people can go from one primary care area to another. There should be a record of where exactly they are to avoid confusion between the various areas. I accept this person was chaotic and moved about considerably. However, I believe - as I know the Minister of State does too - there is a possibility of recovery in every person who is in addiction. All the policies, plans and strategies sound great on paper but it is only when they are applied to a particular person that we see if they are working, can they work and where we need to go.

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