Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will not be able to speak on the issues relating to Cork in detail because I do not have an up-to-date briefing on them. If the Deputy wants to pass more details about those posts on to me, I will certainly have the situation examined. If a post has been approved and if the budget is there to fund it, there is absolutely no reason it should not be filled. The long-standing practice of advertising posts and designating people to fill them without the posts being sanctioned and without a budget to pay for them has been ended. That is not the norm across the public service. It was tolerated in the health service for a very long time and was the main driver for the overruns in the health service we have seen in previous years. That practice cannot be allowed to continue. Perhaps the Deputy will give me details of the particular posts to which he refers. If it is the case that the posts are funded and were approved, we will have the situation examined and get back to the Deputy in that regard.

With regard to the wider issues relating to drugs, the Deputy mentioned the need to treat the matter as a health issue. This is a health issue, albeit one that has a criminal justice aspect to it. Whatever can be said about the health service, there is certainly no restriction or recruitment embargo in place in respect of An Garda Síochána. There has been a significant increase in the number of gardaí in recent years. There are approximately 14,000 gardaí now. The total figure for the force will increase to 21,000, including other staff, in the coming years. As a result of this, there has been an increase in the numbers in Cork. There will be a further increase as gardaí are recruited and attested in the coming period.

We have also increased funding for addiction services. The allocation in this regard was €94 million in 2016. This was increased to €100 million in 2018. This means that there are now 793 residential beds for people who want to go into treatment and who want detox. That is a significant improvement on the situation in the past. We are also working really hard to get a supervised injection centre opened in Merchants Quay. We have run into difficulties with planning permission with Dublin City Council but we will press ahead with the project and try to get it completed. The Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, is working with Merchants Quay and leading on the project. We also have an agreement with Dublin Simon Community to provide a 100-bed detox unit for homeless people who have a problem with addiction. We are working on that and need to get it done as soon as we possibly can.

There are also increased resources for education and information. These are targeted at warning students and festival-goers in particular of the risks of taking drugs in the first place and at advising them how to reduce harm and stay safer if they do so.

See this speech in context