Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I intend to share time with Deputy Gino Kenny. I will speak briefly and Deputy Kenny will make the main points.

In 2016, there were more than 700 drug-related deaths in the State. In fact, the figure was 736. The number of people who died on our roads that year - the number of road fatalities - was fewer than 200. The figure was 186. Thus there were almost four drug-related deaths for every fatality on the road. At the same time, the budgets for the drugs and alcohol task forces were slashed. The budgets were cut by 80% for some local drugs task forces and 90% for others in the period from 2008-2014. They were cut by a Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and a Fine Gael-Labour Party Government. The budgets have been effectively frozen since then.

The motion and the comments from the Government are only hypocrisy unless it commits to reversing those cutbacks immediately. In fact, we need more than that. We need an increase the budget from 2008 levels to take account of the fact that we no longer have simply drugs task forces but drugs and alcohol task forces. We need to take account of the fact that there have been real demographic changes and major increases in the population in the interim. The rest is in large measure only talk unless we see action. This is not the only action needed - not by a long shot. However, a significant point is that the funding for the task forces must be reversed. Sin é.

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