Jonathan O’Brien ‘not ashamed ’ of brother but regrets revealing his heroin addiction

Sinn Féin TD Jonathan O’Brien says he regrets revealing his brother’s heroin addiction in a Dáil exchange, but was infuriated by comments made by Tánaiste Joan Burton.

The Cork North-Central deputy admitted “I opened my mouth before I engaged my brain” when he revealed on Thursday that his brother is homeless and a recovering heroin addict, but said he is not ashamed of his brother.

He also said he did not expect an apology from Labour TD Eric Byrne, who asked in the Dáil why Mr O’Brien had not taken in his brother. However, he said Mr Byrne should apologise for his “lack of sensitivity” around the drugs issue, particularly as he has served on the local drugs task force in his own constituency of Dublin South-Central.

During Thursday’s Dáil debate on homelessness, Independent Dublin TD Maureen O’Sullivan put it to the Tánaiste that the reconfiguration of homeless services in the aftermath of the death of Jonathan Corrie before Christmas saw non-drug-using people being placed in the same accommodation as drug users.

Ms Burton responded that hostel accommodation should only ever be a temporary measure and that “the goal should be to find homes for people”.

Mr O’Brien responded: “You haven’t a clue.” He then revealed that his brother is a homeless, recovering heroin addict who can’t get rented accommodation because of the rent allowance and is in a hostel where drugs are taken in front of him.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said he phoned his brother after the Dáil exchange, and his brother understood the situation.

“I rang him last night and explained what happened and my brother would be very supportive,” said Mr O’Brien. “His opinion is ‘I am what I am’; he is the person who is living it. There was no resentment there. I am not ashamed of him — I am proud of him.”

He said that, if he had “given it more thought”, he would not have revealed his brother’s circumstances. but that it was a “sensitive issue” and “maybe somebody had to say it”.

Mr O’Brien said his brother had lived in Germany for a while, during which time he used drugs, but it was only when he was living in Cork that he first became involved in taking heroin.

“The homelessness was a consequence of the drug addiction,” he said, revealing his brother had used heroin for two years.

Mr O’Brien said his brother had entered a rehab facility last September and has not used heroin since. However, he is still in the same hostel, where drug use is taking place.

“If it was an option for me to take in my brother, I would have done it,” he said, adding that his brother has ready access to a counsellor and other supports in his hostel.

“One of the difficulties he is facing now is trying to avoid temptation. He needs that accommodation to be close to his supports that will continue to help him on his path, but with the limit on rent caps [rent allowance] that is virtually impossible. If I took him in he would lose any social welfare benefits,” he said, adding it would be “counter-productive”.

While stressing that those in charge of the hostel were not wilfully permitting drug use, he said the reality is that people are using drugs, and that an option of accommodation 30km outside Cork City would place him further away from his supports, meaning a “dilemma” and fears of relapse.

Homeless support organisations such as Focus Ireland and the Simon Communities have argued that the need for the level of rent supports to be increased as soaring rent prices, particularly in Dublin and Cork, have pushed private rented accommodation out of reach for many, at a time of inadequate social housing stock.

Mr O’Brien said it was Ms Burton’s response to Ms O’Sullivan that “wound me up”.

“Right now, the priority is to get a roof over his head,” he said. “We are trying to help him out the best we can. The most important thing for him is will-power. He is determined not to go down that path again. We need to match the determination with some support.

There has to be a responsibility on behalf of the State. It is much better to put a roof over his head and for him to be viewed as a valued member of society rather than spending money on somebody who is going to relapse. The first steps should be to stop people becoming addicted to drugs.

“Sometimes we react to problems in this country. It’s a complex situation. We have to look at the socio-economic reasons for addiction: It can be boredom, peer pressure, mental health issues.

“There is not enough education in schools. Then there is the stigma attached to heroin use. A lot of people think they are the scum of the earth, that they’d rob the eye out of your head.

“The first thing we need is to de-stigmatise drug use and be a little more understanding of the issues around drug abuse. ”

Mr O’Brien said Cork should learn lessons from other places which had experienced a growth in heroin use, and that Government policy needed to be focused on a long-term strategy.

As for what he called “flippant comments” made by Mr Byrne, to which he responded “Shut your mouth”, he said: “I think my response to Deputy Byrne was pretty mild after what he said. I don’t expect an apology.

“I don’t think he should apologise to me but he should apologise to other people, like some in his constituency, for the lack of understanding.

“I don’t have all the answers. But the answer is not to throw flippant comments across the Dáil chamber.”