Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is joint. It is definitely interagency. I notice the Minister of State’s statement says it usually affects drug users or their family members. The example I gave was one of people who have nothing to do with drugs. They are pulled into a world by thugs and criminals, which is totally unfair. The problem is that they feel that when they stand up to these people, their whole lives go into chaos. The test of the DRIVE initiative is when you bring together the Department of justice and the Department of Health and make this thing work. We have the framework and the possibility of making a difference here. However, families are still suffering. I am asking the Minister of State to make sure that DRIVE is matched with funding. I launched it two years ago with fanfare and I was so excited about it, but I do not think the funding and prosecution rate are working on the ground. The potential is there but we need to resource it.