Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Labour Party group, I thank the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and everybody else for their congratulatory words to Deputy Bacik. I know she would be very touched by all the kind words and messages from Senators from across the Chamber on Friday, over the weekend and today. It is, of course, an enormous privilege for her to have been elected as a Deputy for Dublin Bay South. It is also a privilege for the Labour Party.

Deputy Bacik leaves behind the Seanad which she dearly loved and of which she was extremely proud to be a Member for 14 years as a representative of the Trinity constituency. There are a number of other examples, but Deputy Bacik is a fantastic example of what is possible in the Seanad in terms of the legislation she has brought forward over the years. There is a degree of sadness on her part that she is leaving the Seanad behind. The four Labour Party Senators remaining are a little sad that we are losing her because she was a fantastic leader for us. She has also been an inspiration for us in the Labour Party over many years. As my colleague, Senator Moynihan, said, Deputy Bacik represents the best of us. The best is yet to come.

I wish to raise the issue of the 24 drugs and alcohol task forces in the country. The heart of their work is about bringing together statutory agencies, local drugs projects and community representatives. We know that if we are to tackle drugs, it must not be treated only as a medical or health issue. It also touches on housing, economics, mental health and communities. It alarms me that the Department of Health, on 24 June, took the unprecedented step of suspending the north inner city drugs and alcohol task force. There are serious questions about that move. It is unprecedented in the 25 years of task forces. We are not clear as to the legal basis of the Department's move to suspend the task force. We do not know why the Department did it. If it was so concerned about governance issues, as the Department set out in its letter of 24 July to members of the task force, why did it and the HSE sign off on a service level agreement in the spring of this year knowing what they knew about the process of appointing a chair of the task force?Many people might say there is no smoke without fire. At the heart of this issue is the independence of the chair, which is not about whether a person is a member of an organisation or is funded by the task force or will be impartial in the role. It is about how active they will be and what kind of advocacy they will bring about in that role. That is at the heart of this matter. I know I am out of time but I am going to write to the Minister about this. This is not just about the north inner city task force. This is about all the drugs task forces across the country. for which there are implications.