Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy John Curran. We intend to take five minutes each.

I am pleased to be able to speak on this issue. I am pleased that the new national drugs strategy was published last year. I was previously the spokesperson on drugs for the party. That role has been taken over by Deputy Stephen Donnelly, but I am glad to speak on the issue.

I am glad the Minister of State has tried to initiate a health-led approach in this area and that she is engaging in a public consultation process. That is something I and my party support. It is important that we remove the criminal code from those who have an addiction. They should not be triaged and processed through the criminal justice system. They should be given care, support and compassion through our health system.

That is where it stops because our health system is not currently calibrated to help those people. Even if we tried to initiate a health-led approach, despite positive changes in some areas and increases in funding, we could not take on the number of those suffering addition, whether drugs or alcohol. Over the coming months, the system must be calibrated to try to initiate a health-led approach. Putting more people behind bars for personal possession will not help them. I was disappointed that the Minister of State did not mention prison as an issue because one of the biggest problems is addiction and mental health issues in prisons. Much of that relates to the cycle of addition to drugs and alcohol and the deprivation those people have experienced in their lives. We need a specific focus in the national drugs strategy on the prison population, the majority of whom have had serious problems with addiction which is only reinforced in our prison system, where they are not helped. She needs to address that in the coming months.

As Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on drugs, I have visited the Tiglin residential treatment centre, Aiséirí Aislinn centre in Kilkenny, and the Rutland Centre as well as many local and regional drugs and alcohol task forces. Many of these groups do admirable work in the most testing of environments with tight budgets. These people do significant work and it is important we recognise that in the debate.

When the national drugs strategy was unveiled in July 2017, I welcomed it but said that there needed to be more than a glossy launch. I said it was imperative that it delivered real and tangible results for communities. My fear was that it would be another strategy that made all the right noises but we would not see the right approach in our public health system. Public health strategy around drugs and alcohol is a microcosm of our health service generally. We have the right strategies and approach, the Government is doing the right thing in consulting the public, but when it comes to services there has not been a real and tangible improvement. The people I speak to on the ground are facing significant budgetary tightening along with increased demand for their services.

What has happened in the past 12 months? How many people have died from drug overdoses? How many lives have been destroyed by substance abuse? What is the net impact of 12 months of inaction? The health system has not been rebalanced to help people with addictions to the extent that is needed. The Government will be glad that there are no statistics for this year as I fear they would show no improvement. Ireland has one of the highest rates of death by overdose. My party and I welcome the Government's action to pilot an injecting centre, which allows intervention for people should they overdose. Ireland has the highest rate of intravenous heroin use in Europe and, as a consequence, the rate of drug-related death is three times the European average. Two people die from drug-related deaths every day in Ireland. This is unacceptable and the figures, unfortunately, show no signs of improving.

We need to look at a public health-led approach to tackling addiction and I welcome the changes being introduced in this regard. Fianna Fáil will engage proactively with the Government's public consultation.

The expansion of local community-led drug projects and needs-based services is a crucial element of the challenge to curb Ireland's drug crisis. However, many social workers and community drug support teams tell me that this expansion has not happened over the past 12 months. The Minister of State referred to the homelessness crisis. Those figures have not improved at all. People who have exited addiction say their complex needs are not currently being met in respect of accommodation or accessing health services. I recognise that is the strategy's focus but we have not seen outcomes.

I welcome that Suboxone and Naloxone are being progressed, which I called for, but it needs to be expanded beyond the current numbers. They will do a great deal to help people. The issue of methadone being the end point or cul-de-sac for many with addiction must also be addressed. It is an important weaning mechanism but treatment must progress beyond it.

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