Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

While I thank the Minister of State for his reply, does he not agree that in terms of reassuring the public, he has said nothing that suggests the levels of urgency, alertness and keen observation that will be necessary to keep this situation under control? The impact of this drug far exceeds anything we have encountered heretofore. For instance, I have read that people of middle class backgrounds, particularly in the financial sector in London, have also been dabbling in crack cocaine. Hence, there is a need to impress on people the message about the awfulness of this drug. If one can become addicted to it within a fortnight, time is of the essence. People must be warned about the drug and there must be more urgent and focused preparations to prevent the awful plague that may result from its use.

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