Senator Mary Seery Kearney: These task forces have been operating since the 1990s. They make an exceptional contribution to our communities, but since the economic crash, they have not seen any increase in their core funding. It is not as if the Government is not giving any money to them. It is, but, unfortunately, we tend to give the money for piecemeal work such as, for example, that relating to the response to crack cocaine. Core funding is about looking after the community by putting in place people who have experience and professional qualifications in this area and who are dedicated to carrying out alcohol and drug addiction prevention and supporting those who are addicted and those who are in recovery from addiction. They do an exceptional job on the ground. It is my honour to be the chair of the Dublin 12 drug and alcohol task force. At meeting after meeting in recent years, I have received feedback on all that is done. At a recent conference in the Department of Health with the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, the research unit brought forward research which showed that the taking of and access to drugs are the same across all communities but that the effect of drug taking is felt most in communities that experience high social deprivation.

The chairs of the drug and alcohol task forces are giving a presentation in Buswell's Hotel this morning. They are launching their pre-budget submission, which asks for an additional €3 million. The latter is an incredibly modest amount of money for the extraordinary amount of work they are doing. They are modest because they are trying to be real and get the money rather than putting a value on their work and looking for considerable multiples of the amount to which I refer, which they would deserve and would spend extremely well. They are over in Buswells giving their presentation. Many of the chairs of the task forces, including me, have been over there meeting with public representatives. They talk about the amount of work they do, but we need to target areas. There are areas in our city that are blighted by drugs. There is intergenerational trauma whereby parents and grandparents were the victims of targeting by crime gangs in the 1980s. Those gangs are long since gone. The children grow up with the trauma of having parents in addiction and recovering from drug addiction or even of having deaths in the family as a result of drug addiction and overdoses.

It is really important that they are successful in their pre-budget claim. I ask all of us to represent that in our parliamentary parties, to ensure we are representing it well and honouring this €3 million. Within the Department of Health, they do so much and this can get lost but it is vital to our communities and it is important that we do it.  ……..

Senator Annie Hoey: I was just at a briefing by the local drug and alcohol task forces in Buswells Hotel. They were talking about investment to support and aid their recovery. I am sure they will have circulated the information to everyone and I need not go into great detail. Drugs and alcohol do not only affect the communities people might think of. There were representatives from Ballymun, Dún Laoghaire, Finglas, Cabra, Bray, canal communities and so on. We have discussed in this House how drugs impact our communities. It was very clear at the briefing that the funding has not increased for the local drug and alcohol task forces. In fact, because of increased costs, the funding has basically declined. The core funding has not kept pace with the reality of providing sufficient services. On pay and terms and conditions, they cannot compete with others, particularly in the public sector. One women said she had five applicants for three jobs. That is a really tough place to be when she is trying to provide a core service supporting communities, and she cannot recruit staff never mind retain them. I want to put on their record their call for Government to put its money where its mouth is. It must attempt to stop the corrosive damage to individuals, families and communities that are struggling to address drug and alcohol problems. They have requested an additional €3 million in 2024 for the local drug and alcohol task forces. That will help them strengthen their capacity to meet current and emerging need. When we hear of the massive budget surplus, €3 million is not an enormous amount to ask for. It is inequitable and ethically unjust that those closest to the reality of addiction are the least resourced. Perhaps we might have a debate in the House about drugs in our communities and what we need to do moving forward. …….

Senator Lisa Chambers: ……Senators Seery Kearney and Hoey raised the briefing on drug and alcohol task forces they both attended in Buswells Hotel today. I will request a debate on the issue, which will be for the term after the summer recess but it is an important topic for us to discuss. Drugs are in every community, town and village and are having a very negative impact on people of all ages. I believe the average age for a person attending addiction services to deal with cocaine, for example, is 33. The idea it is all very young people is not accurate. These are people who are working, in full employment, and it is a different picture from what is generally thought. There is a challenge there for us as a country to meet, so we will have that debate in the new term.