Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this subject, on which I worked in recent years. As it is no longer my brief, I may not have all the up-to-date facts and figures possessed by the Minister of State. I welcome the new Minister of State with responsibility for this issue although he now has been in office for some months. He brings a genuine interest in and knowledge of this subject and will make a difference. I have stated repeatedly in the House that I was not fully convinced that the Government as a whole realised the urgency associated with this issue. However, I expect the Minister of State will get across to the Government the point that it should be dealt with. This issue is bigger than a single Minister and must be tackled by all politicians, both from the Government and the Opposition. They should get out the message as consistently and frequently as possible that drugs are bad and lead to serious problems in respect of one's health and family, as well as economic and social problems.

The major problem is that young people, particularly those who are approximately my age, do not realise the dangers that drugs pose to their lives. They believe that dabbling in drugs at weekends or once a month will not harm them. The Minister of State and I both know it will, as do most of those who have studied the subject to an extent. However, this message is not getting out. Young people think they are invincible, which can be seen from the behaviour of young drivers. The attitude is wrong as such drivers are convinced it will never happen to them. The same is true of those who take drugs. People I know who use drugs are convinced that nothing bad will happen to them as a result of so doing. While they are intelligent people who would not take drugs if they thought it would affect them personally, they are convinced there will not be an effect and carry on doing it. Such people play the lottery every week because they are convinced they will win. However, everyone knows the odds of winning the lottery are extremely slim while the odds of being affected by drugs are extremely high. Consequently, the message must get through and people's attitudes must be worked on and sorted out.

The Minister of State's contribution mentioned facilities and so on for young people, which is extremely important and the more done in this regard the better. However, education is an important avenue by which such people may be reached. No matter what it takes, people at both primary and secondary school must be made aware from a young age that drugs are not good for us. This may entail bringing in those who have suffered from drugs in the past or who are actors or anything we can do to get the message across.

I am glad the Taoiseach has entered the Chamber for this debate because last February or March, I took exception to his comments in which he more or less dismissed the suggestion that we have a drugs problem. While they are not ubiquitous, they can be found in most towns and villages and serious problems exist in this regard. Ireland's leaders, the Taoiseach included, should speak on this issue and let people know it will be taken head-on and beaten.

This leads me to the recent incident in respect of the reporter and her mystery Minister. I do not believe any Minister takes cocaine. Certainly, I do not believe any Minister would admit to so doing to a journalist. This issue must be nipped in the bud and sorted out. Mysteriously, the journalist's tapes have gone missing. I would not settle for this and would prove her to be wrong to end this myth. This would demonstrate that the Government and Members are determined to rule out the possibility of drug use among those with whom they work because they do not agree with it.

That will send out a strong message that we say no to drugs. We are very serious about that. We have to send that message out clearly, from the Taoiseach, Ministers, Ministers of State and everybody else as well. We must get the message out that drugs are wrong. This message must be on the tip of our tongues.

I welcome this debate. We do not always have to debate legislation in the Chamber. It is no harm to have discussions and debates. I would prefer if they were interactive rather than it being a case of me making a speech while others talk and where Members make speeches of ten or 20 minutes. This does not get to the point. I would welcome an interactive debate. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, could facilitate a round table discussion, similar to committee debates but outside that structure.

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