Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

While drug abuse and drug dealing was once a phenomenon almost exclusively associated with large cities and towns, unfortunately this is no longer the case. Many rural towns are experiencing those problems with a worrying number afflicted by heroin abuse.

In my county, while heroin abuse appears not to be a problem, there have been indications of the growing sale and use of cocaine. This would, to a large extent, be due to the conscious efforts of drug gangs operating in the region to build up a market for the drug.

Apart from the health consequences which the use of cocaine has for those who take the drug, it also has serious implications for the safety of the wider community. There is substantial evidence to prove that cocaine use is a factor in increased violence, often in combination with alcohol abuse. In many rural towns this has certainly led to a marked increase in both the number and seriousness of violent assaults involving people who have taken cocaine.

The scale of the problem has been indicated by the increase in cocaine seizures in rural areas. I hope this indicates the gardaí are dealing with the problem. I note they claim to have dealt with a number of attempts to establish dealing networks in different parts of the country. The concern must be, however, that the increase in seizures reflects a massive increase in the importation and distribution of cocaine. Only two weeks ago I attended in seminar in west Kerry at which the Garda drug squad admitted its strike rate of success was less than 10%.

Apart from the prime aim of dealing with the supply of drugs such as cocaine and heroin and ensuring those involved are treated harshly by the courts, it is also necessary to deal with those who are addicted or habitual users of these substances. To a large extent, this must be dealt with by providing young people with viable alternatives in the way of education, employment and leisure. There are many preventative ways in which drug use can be discouraged. There is an onus on every State body to use role models in society who are able to click with young people.

It is also necessary, however, to provide adequate treatment for those who have become addicted. In this regard, I note the comments of Dr. Pat Troy who has referred to the difficulty of persuading GPs in some areas to treat addicts. He has identified this as one of the obstacles to providing the community-based treatment that he believes is crucial to weaning an addict away from drug dependency.

Currently there are no methadone clinics in Cork or Limerick which means addicts there must travel to Dublin which obviously makes it more difficult for them to pursue this form of treatment. It is crucial there are locally based treatment centres given that there has been a threefold increase in the number of heroin addicts in the south east, including Carlow, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and south Tipperary. Some 3,000 people are in receipt of treatment in those areas. It is also the case that there are only 22 detox beds in the State which is shameful.

While Sinn Féin believes drug dealers must be targeted and severely dealt with, we also recognise the need to treat as well as punish those lower down the scale who may commit petty crime or engage in small scale dealing to support their habit. These individuals are often a major source of anti-social behaviour, petty crime and harassment in their local communities but it may be the case that some can be dealt with in a non-custodial manner. This would not apply to anyone convicted of particularly nasty crimes but as an incentive to young drug users to avail of treatment and to move away from a life of crime. In principle the new drug court can provide a mechanism to address this issue although we are disappointed that it is being confined to Dublin. The idea behind the initiative, whereby addicts who are convicted may purge themselves by completing a rigorous course of treatment and rehabilitation is a good one.

Those who succeed in passing through such a programme will not only have freed themselves of a dangerous and debilitating addiction, but will cease to be a threat to the community. Certainly, given the statistics regarding recidivism among young addicts sentenced to prison, such a programme ought to be given a chance. We also hope that it may be extended to areas outside Dublin so that drug users in rural communities can be given a chance to redeem themselves within the community, rather than possibly becoming a lost cause in prison where drugs appear to be widely available.

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