Date: 16 December 2021
Deputy Steven Matthews has been in frequent contact with the Bray Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force in Recent months following the departure of their previous coordinator in August 2021. The remaining staff at the service feared that they would be left in a similar situation that they had been between 2017 and 2019 when they were left without an official coordinator for two years. Deputy Matthews made a series of representations on behalf of the Task Force to both the Minister for Health and the HSE and has welcomed clarification that the process of filling this post has begun and should be completed early in Q2 of 2022.
Discussing the issue, Deputy Matthews said:
“I have seen the work that the Bray Local Drug and Alcohol Task Force do first-hand both as a local councillor and more recently as a TD and to hear that they risked being without a coordinator for another sustained period was very concerning. Many vulnerable people in our community rely on this service and it needs to be fully staffed and resourced to adequately address their needs.
“The HSE have assured me that temporary measures are in place with an administrator taking on the role of coordinator on a temporary basis until the role can be formally filled. This recruitment process has already begun and should not be rushed given how integral the role is to the operation of this service.
“What happened in previous years in terms of the service being left without a full-time coordinator is completely unacceptable and I will continue to push the HSE to ensure that this does not happen again. I have offered and look forward to meeting with the current staff of the service early in the new year and offer any support I can in terms of funding opportunities and improvements to the service that they offer.
“Ensuring that the Task Force is adequately resourced is particularly important as we continue to emerge and learn from the pandemic which many people found incredibly challenging for various reasons. To have that support network available to them should they need it is vital, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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