Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Louise O'Reilly that more needs to be done. We all live in communities, whether urban or rural, where drug addiction is a problem.

The Deputy is correct that more needs to be done about the scourge of drugs and the unfortunate people who use them, as well as the drug trade and gangland criminals. I intend to do more as part of the ongoing process and, as I stated in both the Seanad and Dáil, this legislation is only a small piece of a large jigsaw. We will look at all the pieces and I am sure all members will participate in the public consultation process.

The national drugs strategy must address the issue of people who get into trouble at a young age and are left with a criminal record for the rest of their lives. Even if they stop using drugs, they will probably not have any prospect of finding employment or returning to education and may find it impossible to travel abroad, even on holiday, which most young people like to do. This issue needs to be addressed. It is not my role to criminalise anybody, particularly young people who get into trouble with the law, whether as a result of their background or social environment, and end up in a sad state as a result of taking legal or illegal drugs to get a high. I am open to any suggestions that emerge from the public consultation process to progress this issue as part of the national drugs strategy.

I do not have all the answers, which is the reason we have a national drugs strategy and a public consultation process. However, I have lived and worked in a community that has been destroyed by drug addiction. Young people I knew have taken their lives and died of terrible diseases, some of which I cannot even pronounce. We have an opportunity to make a difference to people's lives and I have not ruled anything in or out in that respect. I will do my utmost through the public consultation process and in the national drugs strategy to address the issues Deputies have raised.

Criminalisation is a complex issue and we must be very careful about how we approach it. Senators and Deputies referred to the Portuguese model. I visited the Ana Liffey drug project on Abbey Street the other day where I met people with chronic drug addiction problems, including homeless people. These individuals need help. As part of that process, we must address the issue from every angle. I am willing to listen to people's concerns, provided they are rational and change is possible. However, we cannot accept amendments that would result in decriminalisation tomorrow morning as to do so would return us to the position in which we found ourselves last year when our streets, neighbourhoods and communities were flooded with drugs of all shapes and sizes.

I read a newspaper report yesterday on a sad case involving a young boy and girl aged 12 years who took tablets in England that left one of them critically ill in hospital. As responsible citizens and public representatives, the onus is on us to do our utmost to tackle this issue in a competent and reasonable manner that helps people. We must not use the drugs issue as a political football because people are dying. I read statistics the other evening which indicated that more people die of drug addiction and overdoses than in road traffic accidents. We will consider ways of encouraging people not to get involved in drugs. They become involved for a variety of reasons and the people who do so do not always live in poorer communities. Some are at the top of society.