Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

Many people were shocked by what they read in the newspapers about this problem. Is the Minister of State aware that illegal drug dealing in hospitals creates a serious risk, not just to patients, but to the staff of the hospital? It is his responsibility to find out the extent of the problem. It would be useful to know, for example, how many arrests have been made for illegal drug dealing in our hospitals. I asked him about the extent of the problem, but he was not able to advise me on that. Would the Minister of State agree that this shows a level of ignorance not commensurate with the problem of which we are now aware, which is clearly not being dealt with adequately?

The report of a particular accident and emergency staff member of St. James's Hospital stated that drugs changing hands in the hospital included cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and hash and that whatever anyone wanted was available in the hospital. We need to know how many arrests have been made in St. James's Hospital as a result of investigations of illegal drug dealing. Why is it that when we checked today there did not appear to be any additional security measures in place? Are there undercover gardaí in our hospitals assessing the problem or will we have the ongoing problem we have in our prisons now in our hospitals, but at much greater risk to the public? What measures does the Minister for Health and Children intend to introduce to deal with this new risk in our hospitals? We already have MRSA and hospital acquired infections. Is the Government to accept that illegal criminal activity in our hospitals will now be part and parcel of our experience of the health service?

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