Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. I would not want anybody to believe we are portraying young people in general as being involved in drugs and I do not believe that was the Taoiseach's intention. This is an issue that concerns every household in the country. I have said this before, in so far as Government action is concerned, we will support the actions of Government to deal with this scourge which is causing such difficulty for so many people. The Government is faced with the reality of having to deal with the scale of the problem. Deputy Flanagan has pointed out on a number of occasions that only about 10% of drugs coming in is seized. For every tonne of cocaine that is confiscated nine tonnes are on sale at locations around the country, despite the best efforts of the drug squads and the Garda. The Government is faced with having to deal with the scale of what one sees on the ground, for instance, 13,000 heroin users in Dublin and less than 30 detox beds. The case is being made for extra gardaí, extra resources and so on but vigilance from everybody is involved here.

There is a real concern here from a parent's and a student's point of view. Let us take a second level school in any part of the country. I have been told by students that it is possible to buy ecstasy tablets for €2.50 out of their pocket money. We all know the consequences of that infiltration and infestation in schools and what it can lead to. This is a challenge for everybody. I made a suggestion previously based on analysis of works done in other countries where a voluntary code applies. The boards of management, teachers, parents and pupils decide that in their school they will not do drugs and that a voluntary code is introduced for random drug testing. I do not mean taking swabs or saliva. There are very sophisticated methods of detecting whether drugs are in use in any school. The consequence has been not only a realisation that drugs are not done in those schools where the voluntary code applies but the beneficial other consequence has been in terms of focus on examinations and results for all students concerned. It is not all about stick either. One has got to have a sense of imagination.

Given the challenge and the vulnerability of so many young people not involved with drugs and the pressure on them, would the Taoiseach support in principle the introduction of a purely voluntary code where boards of management, teachers, parents and pupils would say "yes" under conditions A to C, or whatever, that they will agree to random drug testing, which does not include taking swabs or saliva, in their schools so that reality can be brought about, that drugs do not infest our schools, where pupils can buy ecstasy tablets for €2.50? If the Taoiseach's officials were to examine what has happened in other schools, where this applies, this would be worthy of consideration by the Minister of State, Deputy Carey.

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