Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not profess to be an expert on this area. I thank the Deputy for acknowledging the limitations of what we can commit to here in the House. This was an issue we put a lot of focus on about a year ago in the context of homelessness, particularly in terms of the need for the State to intervene in a more comprehensive way to try to deal with both addiction and mental health in a way that was complementary, as opposed to a silo-based approach where there are two different approaches trying to deal with challenges people face that are very much intertwined with each other. If it would be helpful, I will happily arrange a meeting between the Minister, Deputy Harris, and Deputy O'Sullivan so she can talk to him in some detail about her specific concerns and proposals in the context of what the HSE is doing, the new national drugs strategy which has recently been published and the review of A Vision for Change. There is a lot happening within the Government to try to grapple with this policy issue. I suspect the Deputy has particular things she wants to raise in that context and I would happily try to facilitate that for her.

I also point to the increased funding we have provided specifically around homelessness services. Identifying the multidisciplinary nature of the supports the State needs to provide is a very clear recognition of some of the issues the Deputy has been raising. The funding for homelessness services into next year will increase by some €18 million. Much of that support is in the context of family transition hubs, for example, and the supports for families and individuals in emergency accommodation will be focused on the type of multidisciplinary approach the Deputy is seeking.

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