Results 781-800 of 1,050,429 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Gino Kenny OR speaker:Chris Andrews OR speaker:Colm Burke) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: With regard to Merchant's Quay, the target is to have the project opened by mid-December. It will then be under review for 18 months. There will be lessons from the review. It is important this is done to make sure people who are using the facility have access to the service to see what further work can be done with them with regard to helping them with the challenges they have health-wise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The information with regard to the location of the 422 facilities is on a map. With regard to where the shortfall is, I am not sure we have the answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The issue now is the evaluation process and this is what we need to do next. Everyone accepts that drugs are available on every street in every area throughout the country, whether rural or urban. This is a challenge. Some people experiment with drugs, not realising they can get easily addicted. We come across people of all age groups becoming addicted, as Senator Conway has in his area....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The process at Electric Picnic is about dealing with the issue where people have acquired drugs that may be dangerous. The idea is that we have a box where a person can drop in a sample that is analysed. If it is identified as being dangerous, the message is sent out through social media about a particular drug that may be circulating. The idea is to save lives and make sure somebody does...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The samples are given anonymously. The whole idea is to make sure that if there is any dangerous substance being sold or made available, it is identified and the information gets out there for people not to take it. With regard to anything else, there is nothing more we can do at that stage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: This comes under the Department of Education.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: One issue is intimidation. I am sure the Senator has come across it in his constituency. People are being intimidated and money is being paid because a member of the family owes money to a dealer. This is about a co-ordinated approach. As I said, 30 Garda inspectors have been appointed around the country to co-ordinate within each individual region of the Garda force. The idea is to make...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: If they know anyone in their local community, we are talking about training people in that area. We have talked to the gardaí about this. The gardaí are prepared to meet people, not necessarily in their own home but in a place where it is not obvious they are meeting the gardaí, because their biggest challenge is that they are afraid of being seen going into a Garda station...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The issue of dual diagnosis of mental health issues and drug addiction issues is one area where there is a challenge. We need to fast-track it. While some people in mental health services might say this is a drug addiction issue and nothing to do with them, drug addiction services might then say this is a mental health issue and they are getting no support. It is important that we have a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: Housing bodies such as Depaul, whose representatives I have met, are doing a lot of work on that. People have come through rehabilitation and the bodies have provided housing for them. I was in Usher's Island in the past two weeks, where the Simon Community has opened a brand new facility. It has 100 separate rooms with en suite bathroom facilities. When I was there, 51 people were moving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: The last group that was in here talked about drug task forces and the importance of decision-makers being around the table. This is an old chestnut. It goes back years. We are talking about the pillars of drug rehabilitation. Those that need to be there are education, health, justice, social protection, child and family, and probably others. At some stage, however, a decision was made...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: Visiting the centres throughout the country certainly has helped me because every place you go you learn something new. You learn about the challenges they are facing and the new changes that have occurred as regards drug use. It is one of the things that is well worth doing. In fairness to the Department officials, they have a direct link not only in getting in information but also in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: As regards the other areas, you speak about "a dynamic situation to which policy must adapt in a flexible manner". Respectfully, that does not happen. You mentioned the funding that came for the likes of the cocaine project in Tallaght, which was welcome. They are waiting now. They do not know whether there will be funding for next year; no one has told them. I mentioned the ten...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: Thank you.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: We talked earlier about the challenges that exist. People are saying they have never seen things as bad in communities. We need an injection of hope and reality. The idea we will have another report will probably garner a collective groan from many of us, but that is part of what needs to be done in this regard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: The Merchants Quay project, the target date for which is 15 September, and the Usher's Island project for the Simon Community in Dublin are two very good projects. There are also the day facilities. In fairness to the HSE and Cork City Council, my Department had a meeting with them and the Department of housing. Everyone was working together to try to get that project to the next stage....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: Yes. There is a huge amount of work there, and we send our commendations to all those task forces that are operating, under difficult circumstances in a lot of cases. If I had the time, we would go into a lot more. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for meeting this morning with the committee on the issue of the local drug and alcohol task forces. This is probably the last...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: Thank you. I hope we will all be back here safe and well in a couple of weeks' time, but if not, thank you again for everything. The meeting is now adjourned until Tuesday-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Colm Burke: If I may, it is important that I thank you as well, but also the staff of the committee, who have worked very hard in making sure all the people the committee needs to bring in for its meetings are brought in. It is not an easy thing to do at times. I thank the staff for all their work over the years I was on the committee. I was on the committee from 2011 before I became a Minister of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces: Discussion (6 Nov 2024)

Seán Crowe: Thank you. The meeting is now adjourned until, possibly, 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 12 November, when the committee will meet in private session.