Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a point that we need to emphasise in this debate. The previous speaker referred to the broad spectrum of opinion that is emerging and that is quite true. I find one thing difficult to understand. We have read, for instance, in reports from Tallaght and so on about young mothers being forced into prostitution to pay for drugs. Whether that is crack cocaine or a beginner drug like cannabis is immaterial. The fact of the matter is that the people who gain most from all this are the drug barons. The late Tony Gregory, with whom I served in this House for many years, targeted the drug barons throughout his constituency and outside it, at his own risk. I believe he was right to do so. We have to target the supply and do it in a very forceful way. I compliment the Garda for its successes in recent times in that area. Themodus operandiof the drug barons is quite simple. They create the habit and they feed the habit. They start off with young teenagers or even children at primary school level and they create the habit among them with what are known as passable drugs or less harmful drugs. All drugs are harmful. The more addicted the unfortunate child becomes, the more harmful they are. The people who have the most to gain are the drug barons. The drug barons do not make poor people rich. They simply make them poorer. We have to recognise that. The persecution and prosecution of the drug barons who are the suppliers must continue in a meaningful way.

Any suggestion to scale down that or reduce activity in that area will be fatal when it comes to dealing with drug addiction. The Garda treats initial cases with a fair amount of consideration and it does not prosecute and create a record for first-time offenders and so on. We need to be careful not to create a situation in the future whereby it becomes acceptable, particularly with recreational drugs as well. How are we expected to face people when they say to us-----