Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

The drug problem is getting worse. Teenagers go around freely with cannabis resin in rural areas. It no longer frightens them. They are not afraid of being caught. Maybe when they are caught they feel sorry. It is in every secondary school in rural Ireland. Young people do not seem to be aware of the legal or health consequences of what they are doing but are responding to peer pressure.

The Garda and the schools are doing their best but there is a lack of education. The stigma of being caught is not a deterrent. In rural areas the rise in drug use is inversely proportional to the withdrawal of gardaí. Peer group pressure is strong, there is a lack of education on the effects and use of drugs. We need to concentrate on 14 to 18 year olds who are the main users of the drugs. This cuts across all classes and boundaries in rural areas, without distinction.

There is no designated rural drug task force in Mayo although we need one and we need education in the schools. The Garda runs a good school programme in national schools which in a welcome development was recently extended to secondary schools. The use of drugs in rural areas is an underground activity and needs to be given higher priority. Education of pupils and adults is the best way of bringing forward the issue. Awareness of the problem will help most of all.

Good supports are available up to a point in Dublin, where people identify a problem. In rural areas where people think there is no problem there is no proper education. A total of 15% of secondary school children in rural areas regularly use drugs, mainly cannabis. Cocaine, which is too expensive for school children, is available in night clubs. We need mandatory drug testing of drivers. Alcohol can be detected but ecstasy which costs much less is not detected. One can buy a tablet of E for €5, which is said to be the equivalent of drinking eight to ten pints. It gives the user a high for the night. These users may pay high insurance premiums to drive on a provisional licence and high petrol costs but they can get high for the night on one E tablet because E is freely available. They drive around, spend the night at the nightclub on one E tablet and drive home.

We need to examine this situation. It seems a cheaper option for the user but in the long run it is more expensive than alcohol. People can drive at will under the influence of drugs and they are much more difficult to spot than those driving under the influence of alcohol. Doctors would find it difficult to spot them. We need to consider the education of young people and the mandatory drug testing of drivers.

See this speech in context