Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Tá mé buíoch as ucht an deis seo a fháil labhairt an gceist rí-thábhachtach seo. Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don meon úr atá glactha ag an Aire Stáit i leith na ceiste seo ó tháinig sé isteach ina post nua. Tá sé ag déileáil leis an gcruachás in bhfuil an tír faoi láthair ó thaobh drugaí de. Measaim go bhfuil an mí na meala thart anois, áfach. Tá súil agam go bhfeicfí táirgí ón obair a rinne an Aire Stáit i rith an tsamhraidh, go háirithe, nuair a bhuail sé leis na grúpaí difriúla timpeall na cathrach. Níl a fhios agam ar éirigh leis dul lasmuigh den chathair chun bualadh le grúpaí ar fud na tíre.

Caithfimid díriú isteach ar an obair mór atá romhainn agus tabhairt faoi i gceart. Nuair a ardaigh Teachtaí Dála agus móran den phobal ceist heroin go luath sna 1980í, dúirt gach éinne go mbeadh fadhb ollmhór againn faoi dheireadh. Nuair a fhorbair an epidemic sin, níor éirigh leis an Rialtas freagra a fháil ar feadh 15 bliana. Tá Sinn Féin agus eagraisí áirithe atá ag cuir seirbhísí drugaí ar fáil ag rá le blianta anuas go bhfuil fadbh mór ann ó thaobh cocaine. Níl freagra tapaidh go leor ag teacht ón Rialtas. Aithním go bhfuil obair á dhéanamh — níl mé ag caitheamh anuas ar — ach tá i bhfad níos mó ag teastáil. Ní leor scéimeanna píolótach.

Tá mé ag tabhairt faoi ndeara go bhfuil fadhb níos mó ag teacht anuas ar an cocaine, an heroin, an alcól agus hash agus a leithéid. Tá fadhbanna ag teacht chugainn maidir le crack cocaine agus crystal meths. Ní gá ach féachaint ar cad atá ag tarlúint timpeall an domhain maidir le crystal meths chun a thuiscint cad a tharlóidh anseo.

Six years after it was set up, the National Drugs Strategy 2001 to 2008 has failed to deliver, despite it being conservative in its targets. There is a great need to discuss a new strategy after 2008. The new strategy needs to be imaginative and far-sighted as there are major challenges ahead of us. It needs to be realistic and effective as it must deliver. The evidence of failure of the current strategy can be found in the fact that last year 1,700 new heroin injectors presented to the Merchants Quay Ireland service. This is an indictment of our failure and society's failure to address this major drug problem.

Cocaine-related deaths are on the increase. The Dublin County Coroner, Dr. Kieran Geraghty, issued a stark warning during the summer on the lethal nature of even small quantities of cocaine after he dealt with five cocaine-related deaths in one day. The frequency and volume of seizures across all categories of illegal drugs are at a record high level and prevalence and use are increasing, and that is happened during the lifetime of the national drugs strategy.

Why has the strategy failed to deliver? First, the Government has refused to throw its full weight, in the form of resources, behind it. Second, the Government has refused to respond quickly to changing trends and to heed the warnings. The 2007 budget and previous budgets resulted in major funding shortfalls and as a result emerging needs, in particular, could not be met. We are still in the pilot phase of many projects, in particular those for cocaine, despite the early warnings of service providers.

If the Government approached the heroin and other drugs crisis in the same way it approached foot and mouth disease, our society would be better off. Some may argue my claim is ridiculous as foot and mouth disease would be a cost to the economy. Putting aside the death and destruction drugs cause to human life, we should calculate the cost to our economy of illegal drugs.

Take, for instance, the cost of the numbers of drug addicts presenting at accident and emergency departments because of complications from drug-taking. There is the cost of drug users who have contracted hepatitis C, HIV-AIDS and other disorders. There are days lost at work because of the effects of drugs. There is the cost of unemployment and disability benefits paid to those who cannot work because of their drug dependency. There is the cost of guardian payments, which are not enough, for grandparents who must rear orphaned children because their parents have died from drugs or are incapable of looking after their children. The HSE is struggling with its budget. What moneys could be spent on other medical programmes which are diverted to methadone and other drug-related health programmes? In the past, up to 70% of crime, such as burglaries and criminal damage, were drug-related. What was that cost to our economy and society? There is a large financial cost, apart from the human cost. The Government must approach this issue as a crisis.

There is also the human cost of drugs. Last year, I had to go to a neighbour's house to confirm that her son had died of a heroin overdose. I have known quite a number of people who have been caught up in drugs who have died or are so incapacitated by drugs they cannot function properly in society. I have attended many services of remembrance and I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, has as well.

That is the effect drug addiction has on communities and families. It causes great heartache. Those who live with a family member who is addicted to drugs hope they can come off them through an addiction programme, but often their hopes are dashed when he or she relapses. The children of parents who are addicted to drugs are also affected. That is their symbol of parenthood. There is also a cost to the community with the intimidation of neighbours and the threat and reality of violence from drug dealers. Th situation is extremely urgent. We have failed to take the matter as seriously as it deserves.

| cannot stress enough the importance of well resourced intervention at the earliest opportunity. That is why I have warned about crystal methamphetamine — meths. Last week a feature report in The New York Times warned that meths is gaining a foothold in Europe. The article quoted Thomas Pietschmann, an expert at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, who said the sudden growth of the drug in the United States and its expansion from a regional to a national issue should serve as a warning. He warned it must be feared that something similar could happen in Europe.

The number of European countries reporting seizures of meths more than doubled from 11 in 2000 to 25 in 2005. Over the same period the quantity seized increased by a multiple of four. Hopefully when people realise that there is a cocaine epidemic, it will not explode overnight as it did when we realised the extent of heroin addiction. That will not happen if we take the necessary action. Crystal meth is already available in our cities, towns and in some rural settings. There have been consistent seizures since 2004 and although the quantities are relatively small, they are rising and it may have cost several lives already. We do not know. The consequences of taking crystal meth can be aggression, psychosis, addiction, abscesses, liver or kidney disease. The Government must commit to not repeating the mistakes of its past and must respond promptly to the new threats identified by communities and service providers.

In the past two years, the heroin crop in Afghanistan has been the highest ever. Consider what that means for our society. The large haul off the coast shows that cocaine shipments are increasing tenfold. Drug suppliers are increasing the potency of cannabis. Artificial drugs are on the increase. There has also been a significant increase in alcohol consumption, particularly by young people, as well as older people. The open sale of other herbal drugs needs to be shut down as quickly as possible.

We must keep an eye on the development of a new strategy based on the five pillars of the national drugs strategy which must be implemented with determination and full financing, and in full partnership with communities. In addition, a cocaine specific action plan must be drawn up as quickly as possible.

The five pillars of the strategy must be pursued vigorously. My party made a range of recommendations on supply reduction in its submission to the Garda policing plan 2008. These include at least the doubling of resources for national and local drugs units. That is vital because there is no way we can win this battle unless the Garda Síochána is properly resourced and has the trained personnel to respond positively. There is a need too for a non-Garda phoneline to receive reports of drug-related crime, based on the "dial to stop drug dealing" initiative successfully piloted in Blanchardstown. This will address lack of confidence in, and reluctance to be seen to co-operate with, the Garda Síochána. We should invest in any method that will get information by hook or by crook to the Garda to stop drug dealing in our communities. I have mentioned this programme in Blanchardstown many times. We must tackle open drug dealing if we are to re-build confidence within our communities.

I could show anyone here the streets in my constituency and state the time at which drug deals take place. I am not alone in that. Consider the fear that causes among the elderly in our communities and the message it sends to young people who pass by and think drug dealing is okay. That must be stopped. The Garda needs to examine the consequences of its operational decisions on tackling open drug dealing and decisions to allow some dealers ply their trade in deference to the big picture.

Given the increasing prevalence and use of drugs serious work remains to be done across the board particularly to dispel the commonly held myth that cocaine is somehow a harmless drug. There can be no ambiguity about this in any quarter. The glamorization and acceptance of cocaine as a clean, safe and sociable drug needs to be tackled. Cocaine abuse continues to result in serious health deterioration, mental and emotional problems, chronic addiction, debt and rising gangland killings and reprisals. There is also a worrying development in the increase in those injecting cocaine, which can result in serious medical implications with users experiencing abscesses and wounds and even serious infection leading to amputation of limbs.

While cocaine is no longer exclusively the drug of the middle classes, everyone, particularly those who are well-off, seem oblivious to communities scourged by drugs. Everyone should examine his or her conscience the next time he or she does a line of coke, drops an e-tab or smokes a joint and realise that their actions have repercussions for communities gripped by fear of drug gangs, who are parasites destroying predominantly working class areas. Their actions have repercussions for families which have had to bury loved ones after overdoses, drug-fuelled aggression or related gun attacks or suicide. Using cocaine or any drug is not merely a personal choice; it has major ramifications for society at large.

I appeal to the Minister to continue the work he started in the summer but also to appeal to the Minister for Finance to give him and those in communities who are fighting a good fight the resources they need to ensure that we start winning this battle.

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