Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I will be very brief. I appreciate the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of her colleague, but this is a standard format reply, particularly the last half, on aspirational matters. The Minister of State did not say funding for the drugs task forces had been cut, that we had no detox beds and that there were waiting lists for such treatment. We cannot wait for the new national drugs strategy. It has been approved by the Government, but when will it be published? When will we see the action points being delivered upon? A crisis is beginning to brew in Cork again; therefore, the work of the Garda Síochána and the relevant agencies needs to be augmented by the Government. However, that is not being done. I am concerned that if we procrastinate on taking action, the problem will escalate. We need to support the Garda and the drugs task forces through a co-ordinated approach taken by all the agencies involved, including Cork City Council, but that is not happening.