I echo Senator McCormack's request for a full debate in this House on domestic and gender-based violence. Such a debate is long overdue.

I want to talk about a different issue. Last week, I had the privilege of welcoming a group of learners from the Sligo and Leitrim community training centres to Leinster House. There are more than 31 community training centres across the country. They cater for young people whose needs were not met in school or else school was unsuitable for their needs. These learners engaged actively when they came here on an educational tour. I commend the staff of Leinster House on the brilliant job they always do in making people feel so welcome. These young people, along with others, engage in different forms of education in training centres and via Youthreach and similar programmes. Traditional schools did not meet their needs, including their material needs. The payment of a training allowance of up to €250 a week, plus additional money for accommodation or travel, is a major incentive for young people who wish to continue with their education.

Upon graduation at level 3, which is equivalent to the junior certificate, or level 4, which is equivalent to the junior certificate applied, many students want to progress to a level 5 or level 6 qualification at a PLC college. However, because many of them are still under the age of 16, they find themselves cut off from this level of support and are unable to access social welfare supports such as jobseeker's allowance, which would alleviate their financial position. Instead, they find themselves reduced to an under-18 level of payment of around €45 a week or they have to apply for a SUSI grant, which is much less generous in its monetary value. Even at its highest rate, it is just €7,936 per year, which is €152 a week - a significant drop from a training allowance. Who would be able to cope with the loss of that income, especially in families where the parents might not be able to provide additional support to students at home?

What often happens is that when students finish their level 3 or level 4 qualification they want to stay in education because they are getting the training allowance but they are not able to progress to level 5 because they would lose a significant amount of money. It is hard for young people to get meaningful work at the moment. We want to keep people in education for as long as we can.

The Sligo Community Training Centre has recommended that a different option would be available that is also available in the Cavan Institute. I refer to a PLC access programme. Instead of going around in circles doing a level 3 course and then a level 4 course within the same training centre, they could do an access course for one or two years that would help them to transition to a PLC course. That would not only address their learning needs and be specifically tailored to them but it would also help with their financial situation.

I want to draw the attention of the House to a significant report that was published earlier. I refer to the final report of the Joint Committee on Drugs Use. This is a landmark piece of work. I acknowledge the outstanding contribution of all the Senators who are on the committee, namely Senators Ruane, Fitzpatrick, Ní Chuilinn, Costello and Nicole Ryan. I also commend Deputy Gannon, the chair, and all the other members of the committee. The briefing earlier this morning was wonderful. I want to say a special word about my colleague and good friend Senator Ruane. She has dedicated her life to this issue. It is the reason she came into politics in the first place. Her passion, lived experience and moral clarity have been a driving force in bringing us to this point. This report bears her fingerprints, and the people most affected by addiction in the country are better served because of her work. I just wanted to say that.

As founder and CEO of the RISE Foundation, which has spent more than 17 years supporting families impacted by loved ones' addictions, I have first-hand knowledge of how devastating and isolating it can be for families to watch a loved one struggle with substance misuse disorders. Families often feel completely alone and without support. They are forgotten in the conversation. They often frequently carry enormous anxiety and worry. They are without adequate support and have nowhere to turn. Therefore, I am particularly heartened that the committee's final report devotes such serious attention to family and community supports in particular. It recognises that substance misuse rarely exists in isolation, that it is bound up with the huge trauma and poverty, mental health and housing issues people experience and that our response must address all of these together.

What strikes me most about the report is how deeply person-centred it is. It places the individual at the heart of everything, recognising that people living with substance misuse problems are not individuals to be managed or criminals to be punished. That is really important. They are human beings who deserve dignity, compassion and access to the right supports at the right time. That is a crucial shift in how we think about this issue. It is long overdue. No child grows up saying that they want to be somebody with a substance misuse disorder.

The report also calls for the establishment of a permanent Oireachtas joint committee on drugs use and for its recommendations to be incorporated into the forthcoming national drugs strategy. Both of these asks are crucial. I call on the Government to take this report seriously and to act on its recommendations without delay. For too long, Ireland's response to addiction has been shaped by stigma and a criminal justice lens that has not reduced harm and has caused enormous damage to individuals, families and communities. This report offers a clear evidence-based and humane path forward. This is a report on which we should have a debate. I would like to see a debate on this issue. I again commend the committee on its report and my colleague Senator Ruane on the great work she has done.