Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the 24-7 helpline for people with drug and alcohol addiction. What is the status of this? It is very important because drug and alcohol addiction does not go away at 5 p.m. and there is a need for a 24-hour helpline.

Some Members have raised joined-up thinking and co-operation between local authorities and the prison services. I was recently working with a voluntary group in Cork at night. We were outside the Simon Community in Cork and met a girl who had been discharged from Limerick Prison that day at 3.30 p.m. She got a bus to Cork but there seems to have been no joined up thinking to ensure that she had some place to go once she was released from prison. Can we do a lot more in the area of co-operation? Similarly, when someone is discharged from mental health services, it should be ensured that they have an adequate place to go. We need to do much more in co-operation in this area. I would like a response on those issues.

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