Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 3 October 2024

Committee on Drugs Use

A Health-Led Approach: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Mr. Eddie Mullins:

The citizens' assembly was a monumental moment that gave us an opportunity to put centre stage an issue in society that has been pushed to the background. Only people working in the sector were passionate about it but we are now having a great conversation about it. That in itself is progress. There are pros and cons to every aspect of the decriminalisation argument. Codeine was mentioned and I recall not that long ago when Solpadeine was endemic across the State and it was primarily used by women. There was a major issue around Solpadeine. It was over the counter and legally readily available, yet there was still a problem, so legalisation will not necessarily address the issues we are confronted with daily. One of the recommendations was for greater investment, and that would have to be on a proportion we are nowhere near. We need significantly increased investment in supports for people and it has to be more targeted that it is. We spoke about how people who do not need universal payments are getting them. One citizens' assembly recommendation was about targeting supports at the areas of greatest need.

We are talking about multiples of what we are investing at the moment. That is an opportunity and we should not forget that.

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