Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for joining us this morning, their opening statements and helping us with our deliberations. As was correctly pointed out, Ireland has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe. It is shameful and unacceptable and we have been tasked with trying to come up with a meaningful response to help to reduce that harm and those deaths. Drugs are literally killing our most vulnerable people and robbing them of their dignity and their mental health, and their families. It is truly distressing.

We have had a criminalisation and penalisation approach to drugs. I heard all the witnesses' insightful contributions so I will focus my questions on the proposal to legalise and regulate drugs. I would like to understand more. Perhaps Professor Stevens will respond first and give examples of where legalisation and regulation of all drugs have taken place and what the cost and benefit of that has been.