Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I listened with interest as the Minister spoke of the RAPID programme and, as a councillor of many years standing in the south-west inner city, I have much to say on the regeneration of communities and the consultation process. I too was at the awards ceremony the Minister attended and it was clear to me that such awards are important to young people at the early stages of their lives as they give a new insight into who they are and they help them feel they are achieving something. Many of the children who received these awards at the ceremony will go on to do greater things as they get older. The contribution of the South West Inner City Network, SWICN, has had a huge impact on young people in schools in the inner city and the Liberties and I welcomed the Minister's words at the ceremony.

I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey, for his reference to the words I spoke last week, which I will not go back over. Some weeks ago Deputy Enda Kenny called me into his office to ask me to speak on the national drugs strategy on behalf of Fine Gael and I was taken aback because I am not an expert in the area. I cannot pronounce the names of many of the drugs available but I can speak at length on the real problems drugs have introduced to communities. I lived in a close-knit area of Inchicore but in the 1980s one could not enter one's front garden without seeing a person shooting up there. Many elderly people had to change their post office books to receive their allowances from another area because they were afraid to walk the streets of Inchicore. Drugs had a devastating effect on the community, businesses and residents there and brought Inchicore to its knees.

I grew up in the area and, as the Minister knows, was involved in community work so I saw young people at the youth club who clearly would not reach their teenage years due to drugs. I visited such young people in hospitals through the years, I sat beside many as they died, I sang at their funerals and attended many services, as have other Deputies, to commemorate the loss of young lives. I will never forget, at such services, seeing the faces of family members etched with distraught and anguish at the loss they suffered. I have known the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, for some time and I am aware of his commitment to communities and particularly this issue. I know the Government is making progress but I think we have some way to go. That is why I welcome this review. It is important that, every so often, we dust down these glossy documents and go through them again. It is only then that we can review what has been done.

As the song says, a picture paints a thousand words. In the Irish Examiner last week, we were shown graphic images of what drugs can do to a person's body, mind and soul, and the damage they cause to communities. The media are sometimes deserving of blame in the manner in which they highlight such issues. However, this particular report illustrated the devastating effect of drugs on society.

The media has a major role to play in how all of us, particularly young people, view drugs. Drugs are often glamorised on television and in magazines and the dangers are not highlighted. By contrast, the Irish Examiner should be commended on the approach it took. Young people are targeted by the media, which often show the glamorous version of what drug abuse entails. As a parent of young children, I am aware that many popular music idols, soap opera actors and film stars are openly abusing drugs. We cannot protect our children from this type of exposure but we can educate them about the damage drugs can do to their bodies and general well-being and to their families.

An anti-litter advertisement is currently being shown on television in which a young woman walks down the road dropping litter. While she continues to believe she looks beautiful, her image gradually changes in other people's eyes. We must take the same approach in regard to drugs awareness through the media. The anti-litter advertisement and the one warning of the dangers of drink-driving, in which a young girl is seen in a wheelchair in a graveyard, have had a profound effect on many young people, including my own children. The reform of the drugs strategy should include a consideration of how the media can be utilised to further its objectives.

There is a large and ever increasing cocaine abuse problem in Dublin and throughout the State. Although we have known about this for ten or 12 years, an effective rehabilitation programme is still not in place to assist people to overcome their addiction to this drug. Some small pilot projects are in operation but those working in local task forces insist that this is inadequate. We are talking about people, including young children, with a serious addiction. Teenagers as young as 14 or 15 years are taking cocaine. We must ensure the facilities are in place to offer rehabilitation to young people as soon as they request it.

The lack of psychological services for those abusing drugs is another aspect of the problem. Many addicts who attend services provided by local drugs task forces are doing their best to overcome their addiction. However, one can only access some of these services if one has already stopped taking drugs. A person who approaches a local drugs task force and asks to be included in a rehabilitation programme will only be admitted if he or she is clean of drugs. I do not understand this approach.

Many of the responsibilities taken on by staff of local drugs task forces go beyond their official capacity. I know of staff who have waited for hours in accident and emergency departments, sometimes at night, with people who have presented in a terrible condition. These people are trying their best to recover and are in a vulnerable position. The only way in which staff can seek psychological support for them is to take them to an accident and emergency department. Urgent action must be taken to address this shortcoming in psychological support services. Addicted persons who are fortunate enough to have the money can check themselves into a private clinic where they have a good chance of resolving their addiction. However, that help is not available to those without the resources to obtain it privately. One must be clean of drugs before being admitted to publicly funded addiction support services.

I understand that more than €200 million was spent last year under the national drugs strategy. Given that level of expenditure, it is sad to discover that a significant proportion of drug users undergoing rehabilitation are still in school. This is shocking. The social, personal and health education, SPHE, programme in schools must be expanded. I put a parliamentary question to the Minister for Education and Science this week asking when the SPHE programme will be rolled out for senior cycle in all schools. The Minister states in her reply:

A programme in social, personal and health reduction for senior cycle is currently being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, but no proposals in this area have as yet been submitted to by Department. The council has consulted widely on a draft curriculum framework, and there has been general acceptance that it should cover such areas as mental health, gender studies, substance use, relationships and sexuality education, and physical activity and nutrition.

The SPHE programme should be extended immediately, because we cannot afford to wait any longer. Many young people begin by dabbling in drugs at parties and a great many are pressurised by their peers to experiment.

If I were granted one wish in regard to the fight against drug abuse, it would be that we begin again. We must recognise the importance of education and ensure that children are informed of the dangers as soon as they begin primary school. There must be a thorough review of how such issues as substance abuse, health and well-being are communicated to pupils from the beginning of their primary schooling right through to senior level and on to third level.

I welcome the review of the national drugs strategy and I look forward to addressing some questions to the Minister at the conclusion of this discussion.

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