Sinn Féin spokesperson on Addiction, Recovery and Wellbeing, Thomas Gould TD, has today launched the results of a survey into the Community Addiction Sector.
Teachta Gould said:
“What we can see clearly from these results is that the government’s complete failure to resource the community addiction sector is having profound impacts on staff. 1 in every 2 respondents had considered leaving their job in the last 3 months. Not one person said this was because they didn’t enjoy their role – it was because of job security, wagesand burnout. That is the reality faced by those working in the sector.
“At the same time, 66% indicated that their service does not receive sufficient funding with many wishing they could expand. The need is there in our communities but without funding, addiction services are at capacity and working miracles on shoe-string budgets.
“For the last decade that Fine Gael has been in government, 2 in 3 respondents had received no funding increase. That is proof that Fine Gael do not care about working class communities and do not believe in resourcing recovery for these communities.
“It is clear that those working on the ground in the addiction sector are knowledgeable and engaged with the issues facing the sector. Thoughtful and insightful commentary on the new National Drugs Strategy highlighted this and should be listened to by government.
“It is long past time that this government stopped burying their head in the sand on addiction. Ordinary communities and families are suffering because of government inaction. Sinn Féin have a plan – a plan that has only come from listening to those on the ground. We would restore Taskforce funding, reduce the administrative burden through additional staffing and take a whole family approach to addiction. We would support staff and reduce burnout. We would listen to those who understand these issues and we would invest in our communities.”
Note: The survey results are available to view here:
https://mcusercontent.com/ffc5ff2fa2294c89d2ff7598e/files/173444d5-31f7-06a7-c255-8a83771a31ac/TG_Community_Addiction_Survey_Results_R2.pdf
