Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I commend Sinn Féin on this important debate. We broadly welcome the Bill and anything that addresses the spoils of crime, which devastates individuals and communities. The proceeds that CAB seizes largely come from the illicit drugs trade. I have a different view than most as regards drugs policy, which is antiquated and does not work. Criminalising people for drug use is counterproductive and we must do something different. We need a paradigm shift in how we treat people, determine why people take drugs in the first place, address the inequalities in society and so on.

There is obviously a large market for drugs and not only in Ireland. It is probably the most profitable industry across the world. People make enormous amounts of money and will use grotesque violence to get their profits. It causes chaos in communities. I have seen it in my community. Deputy Ward is from the same community as me. When I was growing up, I saw what drug addiction did to people and communities. It is pretty bad. The socio-economic aspect is significant. People turn to drugs for all sorts of reasons.

There is a vacuum in society and where a vacuum exists, people fill it. Usually, the black market and criminal gangs do that. The spoils of that market are enormous.

We could still be having this argument about the proceeds of the drug industry in five or ten years' time, so we need to do something very different. We need a grown-up debate about the decriminalisation, legalisation and regulation of certain substances that people use. This year alone, large amounts of money and drugs have been confiscated. One of the main reasons for this was that there were many gardaí on the roads, which cannot be sustained over a long period, but it shows that there is a significant demand for drugs. In September, I will introduce a Bill on the legalisation and regulation of cannabis. We will see what kind of support we get from other parties. Criminalising people for using cannabis is a complete waste of time. Locking people up is a complete waste of time. Some other countries, including a number of states in the US, have taken control by regulating cannabis. That has been a success. Instead of the revenue going to criminal gangs, it goes to the states. That could work in this country if there was the will, which I hope there will be.

Is the war on drugs about containment? Is it about keeping working people down? There are a number of factors, but the policy of this and previous Governments has been one of neglecting working class communities because this problem has not been on those Governments' doorsteps - if someone wants to die, go ahead; if someone wants to take drugs, go ahead; it is not the Government's responsibility.

We need to look at this in a different way because what we have been doing has failed. The demand for drugs is greater than ever. Even though the drugs in question are illegal, more people are taking them. Not everyone takes drugs, of course, but what does this say about our current laws? The laws make drugs illegal, but people are still using them. There is no deterrent. That is why we need to do something very different where this matter is concerned. I hope we will consider the issue differently than we have been for the past 45 years.

See this speech in context