Aubrey McCarthy (Independent)

I rise not only as a Senator, but as someone who has walked alongside some of the most resilient people who are in recovery in our country, those who have faced not only addiction, but also homelessness, marginalisation and social exclusion. I see them fighting daily for a second chance at life. Most of the Senators know my involvement in rehabilitation. In Ireland today, the need for detoxification beds is nothing short of urgent. Currently, we only have 18 inpatients bed for detoxification. Waiting lists are growing longer at rehabs such as ourselves at Tiglin, Coolmine and Merchant's Quay Ireland, with some individuals waiting nine months to a year. These people are often in chronic addiction. That delay means it is not just a statistic. It is families whose loved ones are losing the opportunity for recovery. There is a deepening despair. Often, rehabs such as Tiglin ring families to say they have beds for the families' loved ones only for those loved ones to have passed away due to overdose. The recent statistics on deaths from drugs have been horrendous.

I know personally that recovery is possible. I have seen it at first hand, not just from the data, but from the stories of people who have come through Tiglin. I have seen people coming through our Lighthouse café on Pearse Street who are broken by addiction and in trouble and then they leave six or nine months later with qualifications, supported housing, family support and so on. This shows it is not just about getting clean, as people say, but about rebuilding life brick by brick. That involves the community, the Oireachtas and what I mentioned last week, namely, education. Education is central to what we do at Tiglin and we have a partnership with the South East Technological University. In the past year alone, 111 or 114 students have completed the SETU course. An Tánaiste launched a report about the evidence-based outcomes of that educational partnership. It showed that education in recovery was not just an optional extra, but a vital pillar for sustained recovery. We cannot do this alone, though, and agencies such as Tiglin need to be supported. Today at 12.30 p.m. in the audiovisual room, we have service users talking about their own lives and how they have come through rehabilitation.I am calling on my colleagues to attend today, if they can, and support the expansion of services such as Tiglin, particularly in the areas of detox beds and in the areas of education. Recovery capital is what this is all about. It is not just about survival; it is about transformation. That is, I hope, what Senators will hear today. We do not have to stand on the sidelines. We can move forward and be the ones in this Oireachtas who drive change.