Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

The Government has abandoned whole communities to the drug crisis. Yesterday, it reduced the overall budget for drug and alcohol task forces by a shameful 25%. I am a director of an addiction service in Clondalkin and I know the devastating effect this is going to have. The cut will have a negative and immediate effect on some of the most disadvantaged communities. In the area where I grew up, there is not one person - be it a particular individual, a neighbour, a family member or a friend - who has not been affected by addiction. Funding for addiction services was butchered during the austerity era but there is no excuse doing that now. What is the excuse? The country is awash with money. The cuts are nasty and cynical. I believe that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael absolutely despise working-class communities. There is no other reason they would do this to them – none whatsoever. I demand that the funding be restored immediately because everybody has the right to recover from addiction and to be given every chance. The Ministers opposite let down working-class communities; that is the truth.

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