Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I agree with him on that point. The report clearly states that the widespread use of cocaine and heroin in the countries to which the Minister of State referred, and the number of people seeking detoxification treatment, increased significantly. The only figures I can find are for 2005 to 2007, when there was a rise of 170% in cocaine-related cases. This is a significant figure. What urgent action is being taken to prevent addiction in the first place? Where this has failed, what measures will be implemented to adequately treat these people and give them proper treatment places? As the Minister of State said, prevention is the most important factor but people are also suffering and they need treatment.

See this speech in context