Ms Paula Kearney:

No. We need to get started because, in criminalising people’s drug use, we are criminalising their trauma. It will just prolong their trauma. However, there needs to be investment in services, including female-specific ones to create safe spaces. SAOL and Coolmine carried out research on children being taken into care. Of the 45 women interviewed, more than 50% had been in the care system. We need to start investing in early education and putting services in place to stop young people from entering drug dependency. Drug use will always be here, but we need to make it safer for people through supports. Criminalising people is not the way out of this. Drug use should never be criminalised.