Co-Chairman (Deputy David Stanton):

On behalf of the members of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, I am very pleased that this joint meeting is taking place with the Joint Committee on Health and Children. This is our third joint meeting during this Dáil.

We are looking at the drugs issue from the point of view of the criminal justice system. Recently a committee delegation travelled to Portugal to examine the Portuguese model. Portugal has adopted a very interesting approach in that it has moved from looking at the issue from a criminal justice system to a health viewpoint. It treats addiction and the use of small amounts of drugs as a health and education issue. We are exploring this idea to see whether we should adopt a similar approach in Ireland. It would have the advantage of diverting Garda resources and time away from the courts. It would also mean that young people would not have a criminal record. They might be dissuaded - the word used in Portugal - from going down the path towards further use of illegal drugs.

We are inviting public submissions. The relevant information is on our website and the closing date for receipt of submission is 7 August. We hope to liaise with the Joint Committee on Health and Children and engage in further joint consultation and discussion when submissions have been received. We look forward to our engagement this morning and further engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Riordáin, on the policy in this area.