Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

This is a different angle. Last night I raised the issue on the Adjournment and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform graced the House with his presence. However, he did not throw any light on the proposals, which last Friday he declared were imminent, regarding introducing legislation to empower the Garda to deal with the matter. This has been raised almost every week for the past six months and we still do not have any sign of any legislative proposals. Will the Taoiseach take on board the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill which the Labour Party published and presented to the Dáil, which would, if passed, immediately prevent the proliferation of new head shops and would require retention applications for existing head shops? This would deal with the matter immediately and it could be passed very rapidly as it is a simple straightforward Bill. It could take one day in this House and another day in the Seanad.

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