Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the establishment of the office of the Minister for drugs and I hope it happens sooner rather than later. In the past, when Fine Gael and the Labour Party were in government, it was considered important that there was somebody in charge who could hold the reins. Drugs should not be a side issue for a Minister. My hope is that the Minister of State will consider a number of the issues raised today but also, importantly, reflect on recent events in this area. A few weeks ago an inquest found that another young person had died due to illegal selling of magic mushrooms in head shops. I hope the Minister will take this on when he takes over his new office. It is important because there are vulnerable people out there. We should be getting back to basics. People and children matter. I welcome this development and the sooner it happens the better.

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