Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

I will not go back over the drug strategy figures. All the areas and principles to be concentrated on are fundamentally correct. However, the solutions proposed for the various areas are not achieving results. There are drug addicts but the misuse of drugs by young people, and people in general, at weekends or every second weekend or once a month, has increased and appears to be more accepted. This House is not sending out a sufficiently strong message that drugs are bad. While the Minister of State speaks about it, I rarely hear the Government taking the lead or trying to deter people from using drugs. There is a lack of emphasis on the need to spend money to end the scourge of drug misuse. In the area of law and order we have failed through community policing to prevent people indulging in drugs and anti-social behaviour. I would appreciate the Minister of State's comments on that.

Responsibility for establishing youth centres or hang-out areas in all towns rests with the Minister of State's Department, the Department of Education and Science and so on. This is what young people need. In any town or village one visits, the young people say they want a hang-out area. I have spoken with young people in Cork, Limerick, Galway and in County Meath on the matter. However, it is very difficult to get funding or sponsorship for such projects from any Department, yet there is €20 million in the Department of Education and Science from the dormant accounts fund for which there is no plan. Is there a real effort to do something for young people? If we do not spend money on services for them many more will end up on drugs and drink and the only culture they will know will be the drugs culture. That would be a great shame. In recent days we have heard much about culture and people who supported the arts. We have to look to what will happen in future if we do not tackle the problem now. There is an urgent need for action.

On the last day we spoke of the delays in getting methadone treatment and the fact that in some areas one has to wait for months. I also highlighted the issue of getting people off methadone. I accept we need to get people off drugs and on to methadone to stabilise them. However, we have to ensure they do not become addicted to methadone. There are massive problems here. There are social and economic reasons to get people off methadone. Should more money be pumped into alternative treatments or are there other approaches? I came across a document recently from the late 1800s or the early 1900s which stated that heroin was originally used as a cure. I have to admit I did not realise that. It was introduced originally as a cure for another problem, but look at the problems it has caused. I fear we are going down the same road with methadone. I would like to hear the Minister of State's comments on that.

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