Senator Frances Black:

I want to speak briefly about a report that was published earlier in the week by the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force regarding the landscape of drug misuse in the Tallaght and Whitechurch areas of Dublin. The report was launched by my colleague, Senator Ruane, who has done really important work in the area and brought attention to the realities of life for people in her community and others like it. The Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force commissioned a piece of research earlier this year in light of concerns about the deterioration of what was already a seriously challenging drug problem in the area. The relevant community health area has one of the highest rates of drug use nationally, the second highest rate of people seeking treatment for drug addiction and the second highest rate of new presentations to drug treatment services. While heroin is the main problem drug, the task force was increasingly concerned about the number of people seeking support for addiction to cocaine and crack cocaine in the area. The research supported this conclusion, with the levels of crack cocaine use found to be among the highest in this country.

When you combine an expanding young population, a high level demand on local services and high levels of poverty, you are left with a really challenging landscape in which drug misuse can become rampant. It is clear that this is what has happened in Tallaght and Whitechurch, but unfortunately, the area is not an outlier in this way. There are too many communities around the country that have been let down by the State and that are marked by high levels of drug and alcohol misuse. These two things go hand in hand but, for whatever reason, we choose not to acknowledge it. Services like the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force do exceptional work in supporting people in addiction to lead happier and healthier lives, but they do so in an increasingly challenging landscape with limited resources.

The Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force has seen a decrease in funding made available to support its work since 2010, in spite of the increasing levels of demand for its service. When compared with other task forces in Dublin, the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force receives less funding than some areas that have smaller populations and lower numbers of people accessing drug treatment services. How can we stand over this in good faith? The answer is that we simply cannot. As my colleague, Senator Ruane, has previously stated, the cost of inaction on this issue is far greater than the cost of action. First and foremost, we need to ensure that services like the Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Task Force receive the funding they require to continue their work. I encourage the Department of Health to review this matter specifically as a matter of urgency. We also have to consider the broader role that the State can play in intervening in problem drug use early to ensure that fewer people, families and communities are touched by drug and alcohol addiction. It is an issue we need to give greater attention to. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss it with my colleagues in the House in the coming weeks and months.