Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There is a citizens' assembly for 2022 to elect a mayor for Dublin but no citizens' assembly for the drug issue. It shows how out of touch the Government is. In my constituency, Cork North-Central, we have communities absolutely plagued by drug-dealing. We have people whose lives have been wrecked or even lost due to drug misuse. The war on drugs strategy has clearly failed. There is a clear need for alternative strategies and a real debate about them. If the Government thinks that an elected mayor for Dublin is more important than this, then it is simply living on another planet. Why are there no community-based drug and alcohol services for under-18s in Cork city? Under-18s continue to be referred to Matt Talbot Adolescent Services for treatment, but since Coolmine took over the contract for drug and alcohol services in the city, with services being centralised at the start of the new year, community-based work with under-18s on the ground has effectively stopped. This is a serious mistake and I want to bring it to public attention. The Government's priorities on these issues are all wrong. Its choices regarding the priorities for citizens' assemblies this year absolutely show it.

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