Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair for letting me contribute again. I want to return to the issue of Colombia. Mr. Gilmore rightly mentioned the challenge of the drug industry over there and that 70% of the world's cocaine is grown in Colombia. The special representative mentioned that there is a responsibility on the part of Europe - I would say western countries generally - to tackle the demand side and I would agree with him. Mr. Gilmore mentioned enforcement and stopped short of saying anything else. I am interested to hear whether he has other views on what the appropriate policies might be. I am not an expert. I do not expect Mr. Gilmore to be an expert either but I am wondering whether there are conversations in Colombia around what appropriate policy might be. It seems we have had particular policies in Ireland, in Europe and across the western world with respect to drugs for a long time and they have not been effective. They have not served the developed countries well and they certainly have not served countries such as Colombia well. It seems appropriate that we would have a discussion, perhaps not only about enforcement but also about liberalisation and regulation with a view to reducing harm in our own countries and, of course, in countries such as Colombia as well. I am interested to hear if there are conversations along those lines happening in Colombia and if there is anything we should be listening to in respect of developing our own policies over here.