Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Minister of State for coming into the House today. My question relates to the funding for the north inner city drug and alcohol task force. This is an issue Deputy Feighan and I have spoken about previously. There has been what I consider to be a new development with regard to the task force in that a meeting took place last week between the HSE and the directors of the task force. At that meeting it was communicated that no operational funding was being allocated to the task force in 2022.

Will the Minister of State confirm whether this is a direction from his office in the Department of Health? If it is, then we can say it is an attempt effectively to dismantle the north inner city drug and alcohol task force, with all the implications that would have in turning its back on 25 years of Government policy and commitment to task forces. There is a question as to whether the north inner city has been singled out or indeed whether this conversation has been had with the 23 other task forces throughout the country. I am looking for answers to those questions today.

I understand concerns were articulated at the Joint Committee on Health yesterday and there was a suggestion the HSE is awaiting a plan of some sort from the task force. Again, we need to hear detail from the Minister of State as to what plan is being envisaged. I understand the service level agreement, SLA, negotiations typically take place in January or February each year, but from what I understand from the participants of that meeting that took place last week, there was no suggestion of a plan to be put together by the task force that the Department or the HSE is waiting upon.

We need to hear if there is a commitment to the future of the drug and alcohol task forces in this country that have served communities afflicted by drug and alcohol addiction well.Of course, there are always grounds for improvement but if this is a change in Government policy, we need to hear about it. I welcome that a citizens' assembly on drugs is to take place this year but we cannot have a situation where we will see the dismantlement of some task forces and new structures set up in 12, 24 or 36 months' time. The communities cannot wait for that, particularly because of the extent of the problem within the north inner city, or, indeed, other communities, if other task forces are being affected or have had this conversation as well.

The Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and I have had a conversation about our concerns and our desire to see the inner-city task force get on with its job. We are well aware that there is a stand-off between the Department of Health and the task force with regards the appointment of the chair. Will the Department do everything it can to get over that stand-off, resolve that situation and not be petty in terms of withdrawing operational funding? I understand the funding to the service providers is in place but it is the operational funding which is important in terms of the co-ordination of services, the identification of training needs and the range of other activities that are required within the inner city in terms of ensuring we have adequate and appropriate drugs and alcohol addiction services. What will the Department do now to try to overcome that stand-off? Surely the withdrawal of funding will not happen, as it seems was proposed in that meeting last week.