Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation and the work they are doing in a very difficult area. Their work is of help to a lot of people.

Have we any idea of the percentage of young people availing of this drug, although I presume we are talking about any age from 14 or 15 up? I presume it is an illegal high. Is it spreading by word of mouth within communities or are people actively promoting it and making money out of it?

On education, I note Mr. Kelly's presentation stated that three of the user participants were educated to junior certificate level, two only to primary school level, and one to leaving certificate level. In view of the fact that some people did not go beyond primary school, how can a message be gotten across to that group? I have worked in projects in Cork and have found that many people drop out of school because there is no parental support. What is the best way of trying to get the message across of the dangers of using these substances? Is there anything new that can be done to move people away from using these drugs? I know it requires a collective approach.