Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I join others in congratulating Deputy Catherine Byrne and wishing her well. I know she has a particular interest in this subject. I welcome the Bill. We should congratulate the departmental officials for bringing this legislation to the House. Deputies have suggested that it has not been introduced sufficiently quickly, but it is difficult to frame legislation of this nature. That fact is emphasised by the fact that our UK counterparts are coming over here to seek the advice of Irish officials. The UK has probably had a bigger problem in this area over the years.

Like many Deputies, I have highlighted the drugs issue publicly and spoken at committee meetings about the need to introduce legislation as a matter of urgency. This measure is therefore to be welcomed. This Bill, unlike some other legislation we have passed over the course of this week, will be universally welcomed throughout the country, not just in the inner-city areas of Dublin represented by Deputies Catherine Byrne and Ó Snodaigh. The activity that is to be prohibited is evident in all urban areas, as well as small towns and villages outside the Dublin area. It has already been mentioned that head shops opened in Balbriggan, Swords and Malahide, which are in my constituency. Local communities have to be congratulated on their fight to bring this case to the attention of public representatives and the Government. When people see children as young as 12 being offered legal highs, they demand instant action.

I welcome the section that will ban home deliveries and Internet sales. It is a difficult area to police and get to grips with. It is one thing to deal with visible shops on high streets - people can see who is going in and out of them - but it is another thing to deal in a definite fashion with oblique advertisements in newspapers and text messages, etc. The sale of any form of drug under an improper label is immoral. We need to introduce laws to deal with such activity.

I am concerned about the section that excludes veterinary products from these provisions. We all know about the ingenuity of those who mix and match different components. I suggest that in cities and large urban areas where there is no agricultural activity, people should require a veterinary prescription just as they require a medical prescription, because it is ridiculous that they can go in and buy veterinary products off the shelf and mix and match them.

I have raised the issue of planning permission at committee meetings and elsewhere. It is ridiculous in the extreme that our planning laws allow these shops to operate. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should extend the law or bring in new legislation which would force local authorities to insist on planning permission. It is not right that an adjoining business should, potentially, face the danger of fire-bomb attacks, as has happened in my constituency and those of others. We need to enforce and introduce planning regulations in this regard as soon as possible. I welcome the Bill and wish it a speedy passage through both Houses.

See this speech in context