Social Inclusion page 17

• The Department coordinated the public health response for socially excluded groups in congregated settings and in the community including people who use drugs, people who are homeless, the Traveller community, the Roma community, and residents in direct provision centres.
• The Department collaborated with government departments, the HSE and civil society to minimise the overall impact of COVID-19 on socially excluded groups by ensuring they received priority action in terms of detection, case management and contact tracing. A fast- track flexible approach was used for complex cases in these communities, that minimised further spread.
• The Department supported the HSE-led response to COVID-19 among people who are homeless which resulted in additional funding of €3m in the HSE Winter Plan for enhanced healthcare services for people who are homeless, including the shielding of 300 people in own-door accommodation.
• The Department, the HSE and voluntary and community organisations worked together to restore drug and alcohol services for people with subsistence use dependency. Additional funding of €500,000 was provided to drug and alcohol task forces to help service providers adapt their services to meet COVID-19 restrictions.
• Public health guidance was provided in an accessible format for people who use drugs and those with alcohol dependency. Guidance was also provided to support the continued operation of drug and alcohol support groups and programmes.
• A rapid impact assessment was conducted on the impact of COVID-19 on drug and alcohol services and people who use drugs10, in conjunction with the Irish Government Economics and Evaluation Services and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug-related Activities.