Deputy David Stanton: I am sure the Taoiseach will agree with me that we need many more treatment centres for people suffering from addiction to alcohol, drugs and gambling. Tabor Lodge in Cork is under severe financial pressure and I am worried it might have to close. It is one such centre. We need many more of them. Will the Government act to ensure it does not close? 

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Colm Burke): There are 422 treatment centres around the country dealing with drug and alcohol addiction. Last year, over 13,000 people received treatment for drug addiction and 8,000 people received treatment for alcohol addiction. Additional funding has been allocated for this year. The case of Tabor Lodge only came to my attention in May 2024. I understand that the capital funding it requires will come in under the HSE budget but that is a decision for the HSE at local level. 

Deputy Gino Kenny: The Joint Committee on Drugs Use published its interim report yesterday. There will be a general election in the next few weeks so this is essentially its final report. This has been a very good committee. It has been very important in looking at different models of drugs policy and saving lives. This is the most important thing. The committee took into account the recommendations of the citizens' assembly as well as our own. There is political consensus on this. There are a variety of views, but many people have shifted their opinion in respect of how we got it wrong in the past. People will ask what is next. We have had the citizens' assembly and this very integral report, where there is consensus on doing things differently and on what we can do differently. If thE Taoiseach is in the Government the next time, what does he plan to do about implementing this report? 

Simon Harris, The Taoiseach: I sincerely acknowledge the Deputy's work and his strength of feeling on this. Even though we do not always agree on every element of it, I fully acknowledge he is motivated by a sense of wanting to save lives and help people. I thank him for the work he has done on that. 

The first thing I will do is read the report, which I have not done. All of us, during the general election, need to outline clearly what we intend to do in terms of next steps. The next Dáil should try to make real progress on this. The Deputy and I may have different views on this, but sometimes the debate becomes narrowed down to the issue of decriminalisation. There is a broader debate around a health-led approach and health interventions that can be made to help people. There is a very big difference between somebody with an addiction who needs a bit of help, and somebody who is perhaps more casually using drugs on a Saturday night out in the local pub. We need to understand, from a policy point of view, how to differentiate between the two.