Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)

Hundreds of gardaí are in Rossport, County Mayo, trying to put through an ill-fated project, yet millions of euro worth of drugs are coming into private aerodromes, as has been pointed out. We have had a problem with alcohol for many generations, but in recent years other drugs have compounded and accelerated the situation. Heroin has devastated disadvantaged communities in Dublin. Although it is estimated that there are 15,000 people addicted to heroin in Dublin alone, the State provides only 20 residential detox beds in the entire country. That is a disgrace. It can take up to 12 months for a chaotic addict to get on a methadone programme that will stabilise him or her. It is disgraceful. During this time, two crimes a day are needed to feed his or her habit.

Drugs such as heroin and cocaine are in every part of the country and in every walk of life and section of society, even in rural areas. These addicts are sons and daughters, real people, mothers and fathers, many of whom are not more than children themselves. Many grew up in an alcoholic home. Society has written them off because they generally do not come from middle-class families, so they do not count. To fund their addiction, many engage in crime, particularly shoplifting. We place those people in the dustbin that our prison system has become at a cost of €1,600 per week before releasing them to continue the crime-addiction cycle.

Our criminal justice system is full of alcoholics and drug addicts. The only winners are the criminal justice professionals, lawyers who make lottery-like salaries for a process that does not make society any safer. We must address this issue. In 2003, the director of the Merchant's Quay Project pointed out that there were only 20 residential drug addiction treatment beds in this country. Add 6,000 on methadone maintenance in 2001 compared to 400 in 1995 and we have all the proof we need of the growth of heroin and its ability to thrive and spread.

A prohibitive mentality has left us hamstrung. The figure of 20 beds for addicts is embarrassing when we consider the emphasis on creating more prison spaces. We encourage judges to lock people up, creating even more overcrowding in the prison system. When that happens we have too many people in too small a space with no meaningful work or education, creating another site for drug abuse.

The State was not always like this. Britain and China fought two wars over drugs, the opium wars. Up to 1868 one could buy opium and morphine in general stores in Britain. The Pharmacy Act 1868 stopped this and gave dispensing powers to pharmacists. Since many of those who can do something are publicly one-dimensional, drugs are merely a problem where it is politically expedient to sit tightly on the fence and wring one's hands or call for more severe action. Nobody loses votes for saying "lock up drug pushers" or "drugs are evil", but as the people who live cheek-by-jowl with the fallout from the problem on a daily basis we expect a little lateral thinking from our political masters. Without breaking new ground, more treatment, more beds, employment opportunities, green spaces, proper recreational areas and open education opportunities would help alleviate some of that mess. It is up to the powers that be to try pilot schemes such as needle exchanges and safe places for addicts to inject. However, these are mainly cosmetic. We must address the problem and break the mould. We need to stop drugs pouring into our airports.

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