Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

In the first instance, I congratulate Deputy Catherine Byrne on her appointment to Deputy Kenny's new Front Bench. I wish her good luck in the period ahead.

I thank the Minister for bringing forward the Bill and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on it. If ever there was legislation which tapped into the concerns of communities, this is it. We have all witnessed the proliferation of health shops in recent years. People frequent these establishments in order to purchase honey or other products which they are informed are good for their health. When head shops came into existence, the edges somehow became blurred and people believed their arrival to be a good development. They were seen as being similar to health shops but, in reality, the two are very different. As the head shops developed, therefore, the terms "health" and "head" became synonymous and these establishments were perceived to be selling health products and their operations became quickly established.

A wave of evil and a lust for money swept the land following the opening of the head shops. Those who operate these establishments refer to the range of products they sell as offering "legal highs". As a result, people were of the view that there was nothing wrong with such products and subsequently flocked to the head shops. The noisiest public meeting I ever attended was held approximately three months ago in Athlone. On that occasion, 400 people crowded into a local hotel to discuss the issue in question. At that stage there were five head shops operating in Athlone. An enormous number of mothers told their sad tales at the meeting to which I refer. It emerged that they had no control over their children who, with their friends, were flocking to these shops in order to purchase legal highs. One mother, whose tale was extremely graphic, convinced herself for a long period that her child was taking some form of health product which would do him immense good as he studied for his leaving certificate. She believed he would be healthier as a result of his consumption of this so-called legal substance. How legal were such products?

As already stated, a wave of evil and a lust for money took over. If five head shops in one small town in the middle of Ireland could flaunt their products, then how much greater was the problem in the cities and larger towns? One used to see gangs of young people - mostly young males - visiting the head shops to which I refer in order to purchase various products for later consumption. Their parents were of the view that what they were buying offered legal highs.

There is no need to use the term "gateway substances". The substances to which I refer are real and they are just as evil in nature as are other illegal drugs. However, the products sold in head shops were referred to as "bath salts" and other, equally silly, names and were labelled in such a way as to make people believe that they would increase their enjoyment. The latter is far from the truth. There is no doubt that many people were led down the road towards taking these evil substances. Those individuals would not have trodden that path but for the fact that, mistakenly or otherwise, they were enticed to enter the head shops.

As the Minister stated, the Bill has the concept of community safety at its heart. Enormous powers are granted to the Garda under its provisions. The Minister has indicated that he will not be content to just enact the legislation and hope for the best. In that context, he has indicated his desire to monitor its implementation. I was alarmed when he and Deputy Catherine Byrne stated that some 44 head shops have reopened. I presume these establishments are operating under some new name and are selling substances, which they pretend are something else but which are, in reality, illegal drugs, to young people at whatever price. RTE television showed a very good programme on this matter approximately one month ago in which the programme maker rented an apartment opposite and counted the people - young, middle aged, old, professionals, non-professionals and working class - who were frequenting the place. The numbers involved were amazing.

I wish the Minister well with the legislation. I accept Deputy Shatter's point to the effect that during the month of August the courts will be in recess. Will it be necessary to translate the powers being bestowed upon the Garda into court measures and, if so, how will it be possible to do this when the courts will not be not in session?

This is a timely measure. I am not of the view that it took a long period to emerge. Many matters had to be dealt with before the Minister and his Department were in a position to draft the legislation. I am glad that it has finally emerged. We are experiencing a modern phenomenon and the Minister referred to people ordering these substances on the Internet. Most recently it has been possible for people to telephone a number and order the drugs they wanted for delivery. The process in this regard is much the same as that used when people order meals from Chinese takeaway restaurants. It appears that the ingenuity of those who wish to peddle the substances to which I refer knows no bounds.

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