Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not disagree with what the Deputy says and I take her comments about funding on board. I would also make the point that it is about more than funding. It has to be about the way we treat people with drug addiction. For a country that likes to consider itself progressive, tolerant and inclusive, the way we only treat people with drug addiction through the criminal justice system is regressive and belongs in a different era. The idea that the first point of contact of somebody who finds themselves in difficulty, and there but for the grace of God goes any of us, is the criminal justice system rather than the health system makes me quite annoyed and frustrated and somewhat embarrassed. We need to look at best international practice in this regard. We need a compassionate, health-led response to drug addiction. That is why and the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, and I set up a group to look at exactly that. That group is due to report to us very shortly. The first support the State provides to a young person in Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's constituency or in mine who is suffering from a drug addiction should not be a knock on the door from An Garda Síochána. It should be help from an addiction service or a health-led approach. That is now Government policy under the national drug and alcohol strategy, but we may need to start changing the law in that regard. I look forward to working on that with the Deputy.

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