Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy McDonald in her point that it does not make much sense to look at this initiative unless we have a review of it. The same goes for the Drogheda implementation board and its plan. Many things are happening that I definitely support. Some of this is about streamlining the communication between agencies, but I do not think there are sufficient resources to do the business we need to do. In the past few days, parents have come to me because they are worried about their children who are in the throes of addiction and cannot access addiction services. I am constantly dealing with drug intimidation scenarios, including this week, where people who do not see themselves as having a lot of choice fall into what they think is easy money. Then usually a bigger shark runs them over. That is what we are dealing with. Turas in Dundalk has a dual diagnosis pilot it has to finish through self funding. The Family Addiction Support Network which is used by An Garda Síochána does not have sustainable funding. The Red Door Project has had some successes in getting funding but again, it does not have the multi-annual funding that is absolutely necessary. We need to get real about this. Will we have the resources in the community safety partnerships to deliver what really needs to be delivered across the board? The sooner the better.

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