Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with both the Chairman and Ms Metcalfe that we need a Minister with responsibility for tackling the drugs problem. We have discussed the issue before and we should communicate that view to the Government. It is very important that we have a Minister with a sole focus on this problem.

There is a question of decriminalisation and Portugal has been mentioned. That country depends much on tourism and I went on holiday there approximately five years ago. I stayed in a resort where I discovered one part at night was solely given over to the sale of drugs. Everybody else avoided the area and the only people who went there seemed to want drugs. It is not a desirable way to manage a drug problem. How do other countries deal with such problems?