Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her views. We have found ourselves in a complex and difficult situation and I take this opportunity to update the House on the holding of drug and alcohol support group meetings in Dublin. Last week, the Government published Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19. The framework states that no organised indoor gatherings should take place when level 3 restrictions are in place and Dublin moved to level 3 from midnight on 19 September for a period of three weeks. The level 3 restrictions apply to all indoor meetings. However, organised outdoor gatherings of up to 15 people are still permitted.

I acknowledge the importance of drugs and alcohol meetings for people in recovery from addiction problems. The Covid-19 pandemic has created uncertainty and anxiety for everyone, particularly those affected by drug and alcohol addiction. My full intention, as Minister of State with responsibility for this area, is to do all I can to ensure we achieve the restoration of these essential addiction treatment services in Dublin as quickly as possible. Having spoken to the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, about this issue on several occasions this week, I state for the record of the House that it is his full intention to ensure that these services are returned. However, we must ensure they can be held in a safe environment for the majority of the users of the services in a level 3 restriction area.

Individuals affected by problem drug and alcohol use often have higher levels of physical comorbidity and alcohol may make an individual‘s immune system less effective. As a result, this cohort of people are more vulnerable to the effects of respiratory disease and infection in general. These risks to the health of participants in support group meetings cannot be ignored in the context of the serious danger of Covid-19, which is an enveloping respiratory disease.

I agree with Deputy O'Reilly and other elected representatives who have contacted me concerning the importance of this issue since Friday. The drugs policy unit in my Department is currently actively working on developing safe solutions to enable the restoration of all drug and alcohol treatment services nationwide. I have asked the unit to make contact with the HSE, event organisers, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, SMART Recovery, and other relevant stakeholders to develop a plan to achieve this outcome as quickly as possible.

The situation regarding Covid-19 is evolving and is having a major impact in Ireland and across the world. The measures in place and public health advice have been adapted to the changing circumstances and this will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future. We are dealing with changing circumstances on a daily basis. Real progress has been made on suppressing the virus due to the huge effort by our citizens. By working together we have saved lives and limited the impact of the disease on society in Ireland. We must all continue to do everything possible to avoid the virus spreading. I assure anyone listening to this debate who is in recovery for addiction in Dublin that I and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, are working hard to ensure services can reopen in a safe manner as quickly as possible.

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