Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

By blocking the appointment of a strong community nominee as chair, the professional integrity and reputation of both the outgoing and incoming chairs have been questioned and undermined. Unfounded allegations around governance issues are being made without producing, as I said, any shred of evidence whatsoever. Both are known to us all as people of the highest standing in their fields and highly respected across many sectors involved in our NDS. We should be thrilled that people of this calibre are willing to take on a voluntary role as a chair of a drugs task force and offering them every encouragement. Instead, this whole sorry story sends out a very disheartening message to anyone who might be thinking about making a contribution to their community in this way.Last week in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said he: "... passionately believe[s] in the community and voluntary pillar in terms of the implementation of national [drugs] strategies and in working to formulate and implement those strategies". I believe him. We are asking his colleague, the Minister for Health, who I would like to have seen here, to immediately intervene in this situation. I ask that the Taoiseach meet with the north inner city community networks as they called for his support in their statement last week. The outcome of what is happening in the north inner city has really serious implications for all drugs task forces. If things continue in the direction they are going in it is a clear message to all such task forces that the Department of Health is in control and if they do not go along with what it wants them to do then they will be punished. It sends out a clear message to all of us in the community sector that there is no place for us anymore in the national drugs strategy.