Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for addiction recovery and well-being, I have met with various groups and organisations. The importance of having an alternative to alcohol has been raised, especially for people in recovery. I am the chairman of St. Vincent's Hurling and Football Club in Cork. We partnered with a recovery group and gave it the use of our all-weather facilities for the month of September as part of National Recovery Month. The group got a coffee van and we had a group meeting with various people in recovery.

As the Minister indicates, there is a culture in Ireland whereby if you are out late at night, it all revolves around socialising with alcohol. We need to do a lot of work as a society to change the culture. That is something on which I want to work with the Minister to see what events and spaces we can provide. It is very important we work with local authorities because there are many people who are in recovery as well as many others who do not drink alcohol. It would be a positive step if we could organise more events for them.

See this speech in context