Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I lend my support to the points made by Senators Ruane and Ó Ríordáin in advising the Government against this. My credentials in this matter are based on my experience in working for Cork Simon Community for eight years. There is nothing in the measure before us that would help any person with an addiction such as those I would have worked with. The new legislation has been driven by criminal justice and An Garda Síochána, not by health. As Senator Ó Ríordáin said, people in this situation do not need another summons,. they need help.

I want to share with the House the story of a young woman, Tara, which is not her real name. She is in her 20s - the same age as my daughter. She is what we would call in the clinical world a polydrug user. In other words, she uses many different drugs. I came across her in my time with Cork Simon and we still have a chat and exchange banter. I know her as a person with great spirit and fight. However, she is in serious trouble with housing and her addictions. Her mother died on the streets in Cork in dreadful circumstances. What Tara needs and what her mother before her needed is not another summons, not a widening of the net that brings her into closer proximity with the criminal justice system, but help with her addictions.

I fully support Senators Ruane and Ó Ríordáin in saying this is foolish legislation which will not help that person or all of the other people who die anonymously in dreadful circumstances about whom we never hear.I would, therefore, advise in our role as Senators against this legislation.