Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I assure the Deputy that the Government has taken the matter very seriously for the past few months. We have been working as fast as we can. It is a complex area. We considered the experience in the UK, particularly regarding the way in which the matter was dealt with there, as the UK has grappled with the problem. We are intending to chase a moving target, which is why we need a belt-and-braces approach. As soon as we ban a certain substance, new substances come on-stream.

I am under no illusion that although a lot of the head shops have closed, some are continuing to trade, and an effort will be made somewhere in this country to bring in new products that are not on the banned list. That is why the Government decided it needed to examine this matter both generally and specifically. That work will continue and I hope to be able to publish the legislation within the next week or so. This is subject to the views of the Attorney General.

It is not an easy issue to address because we do not want to introduce a ban with unintended consequences, such as the banning of medicinal products, food products, tobacco products or poisons. We must be very careful in that respect. We are subject to the EU technical standards directive but we have got over this, as evident from the recent announcement.

With regard to the Deputy's question on the Garda Síochána and co-ordination, I thank the Garda Commissioner and his team, particularly Deputy Commissioner Callanan, who drove this initiative. As of 11 a.m. this morning, the Garda was working on a list of 102 head shops nationally, some of which were more prominent than others or perhaps of an underground nature. Sixty-six of these have now been closed and banned substances have been handed to the Garda. Thirty-six remain open but have handed over banned substances and claim their businesses now relate only to non-banned substances. Three distribution centres were visited and they also handed over banned substances and claim their businesses now relate only to non-banned substances. The shops and distribution centres remaining open will be monitored closely to ensure their activities are within the law. The Garda does not yet have a figure for the weight of the substances handed over but the best estimate is that they would amount to at least three large truckloads.

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