Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

If drugs are cheaper on the streets, it suggests more are being imported. If more are coming in, the Garda may be having a greater level of success in the context of an increased rate of importation. However, it is not possible for me to give an exact judgment on the matter. As I said recently to a Labour Party Deputy, I intend to convene a meeting of the Customs and Excise and Garda to form an indepth, strategic view of the issues involved, including on-the-street prices, to determine the direction of underlying trends.

While I do not wish to be sanctimonious about the question put by Deputy O'Keeffe, it is undoubtedly the case that there are some in our society who believe it is their privilege to make up their minds privately in their homes as to whether they consume cocaine or other drugs, which is no one else's business. I do not know how many of them there are. I have repeatedly made the point that their view is completely immoral and wrong-minded. Nobody can take drugs of any kind without sharing in the moral responsibility for underworld crimes, including murder, which result from the availability and consumption of narcotics.

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