Without discussing the specifics of the case, this week an incident occurred in the north inner city in which a young man who lost his life was taken from a flat complex. I send my deepest condolences to his family. Please tell me the Government is aware of the increase of addiction in the city, that it has a plan to do something about it and that it understands the urgency of the need to invest in more medically supervised recovery beds. There is a need to provide medically supervised injection centres. In their absence, we have unsafe injecting in parks and flat complexes throughout the city and the country. Is the Tánaiste aware of the urgency? Will we see an increase in funding for medically supervised injection beds in the budget? What will we do to ensure people can access treatment where they need it?

I join the Deputy in extending my condolences to the family and friends of the man who died in those tragic circumstances. It is Government policy to bring in supervised injection centres. We have plans to do so at Merchant's Quay. The Deputy knows the difficulties and complications that have arisen around this but we certainly have not given up on it. The policy remains an objective. I absolutely agree that we need to continue to invest more in drug treatment centres and drug treatment beds. It is money very well spent. The fact we can rescue people from addiction makes a huge difference not only for them but for their families and the communities around them. If we do not do so, the costs we bear in terms of the criminal justice system, emergency departments and homeless services are enormous. The benefits of the investment phenomenally outweigh the costs. The Deputy can be confident that we will continue to invest in this area.