John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As my constituency colleague said, this is a plea from and on behalf of those on the front line in meeting the consequences of drug misuse in our constituency, namely, the drugs and alcohol task forces and those who work with them. It is a plea for help, not just to the Department but also to the Departments of Health, Justice, Education and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Without drugs task forces, children, sons, daughters, fathers and brothers would simply have nowhere to go to seek help. This House really has no idea of what these workers confront every day and every week. We have an opportunity to start again, to start afresh and to analyse the supports that are required, the interventions that are needed and whose responsibility it is to provide them. The only answer is for every stakeholder with a responsibility and a role to play in this area to come to the task forces' table and to be an active participant on a monthly basis. If these stakeholders play their role, we will look for the resources necessary to back up any required interventions.

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