Mary Fitzpatrick

No, not at all.

I'm happy to report that the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party is, as always, healthy and dynamic and full of...

challenging debate.

So, yeah, that's what healthy democracy is about.

Willie has very significant influence within the parliamentary party.

There's no doubt about that.

He's got huge influence, not only in Limerick, but I suppose nationwide.

And his voice is of huge value.

We had a really...

I would say intense debate, and I'm not just referring to the heat of the room.

On Tuesday night, the actual physical heat of the room, sun was blasting in.

But it was a really healthy and good debate.

And it gave the parliamentary party an opportunity, I suppose, to engage with Taoiseach and other ministers, Thomas Byrne as well.

I suppose it was the human lived experience of families of people who had either lost their lives or

had suffered greatly through addiction and drug use.

The families and the supporters and I suppose also the youth workers and the teachers and the schools representatives, all of whom spoke of, I suppose, what was, you know, the real impacts of substance use, substance misuse, addiction, all of the

mental health issues, all of the social implications, the economic implications, obviously.

But I suppose all of that and what was really, really evident was that

We can't police our way out of those problems.

They are health problems.