Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom an Dáil a chur ar athló chun an cheist rí-thábhachtach seo a phlé, the failure of the Government to address the dangers posed to our communities by the proliferation of head shops, of which there are now more than 100. Ireland has the highest number of head shops per head of population of any country in Europe. Not only is great harm caused by the unregulated sale of toxic psycho-active substances through shops, the Internet and home delivery services but people's lives and property are also under threat as a result of the arson and pipe bomb attacks which these shops have attracted. There is an urgent need for comprehensive legislation to fast-track the prohibition of harmful and poisonous substances and establish an appropriate infrastructure for the control of all non-medicinal psycho-active substances in the interest of safeguarding public health.

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