Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I fully understand that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet on this issue and I appreciate the work the Deputy has carried out on this particular amendment. However, there are two aspects to this, the first of which is the setting up of another regulatory authority. There has been criticism to the effect that there are too many regulatory authorities in this State. While the Deputy says it would be self-financing, what he proposes in his series of amendments is, in effect, a replication of what already is being carried out by the Department of Health and Children regarding the identification and classification of specified psychoactive substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act. I do not see the merit of setting up another body to do what is already being done by the Department of Health and Children.

As I said in my Second Stage speech, the whole idea of this legislation is designed to be as simple as possible from a criminal viewpoint, while being drafted in such a way that it is fair and acknowledges due process for the people who may be affected by it. We have the criminal sanction, as laid out in the relevant section, as well as the civil procedure in sections 7, 8 and 10, the prohibition notice and closure order. They are calibrated in such a way as to give people involved notice, while taking due account of the rights of those involved who are transacting business.

I cannot accept it. I have not seen a copy of the letter from Sheehan and Company, and I understand it was forwarded directly to the Attorney General's office. For some reason we cannot locate a copy in the Department but I understand that, having seen the letter, the Attorney General is happy the legislation is constitutional and that the procedures laid down in the Bill in relation to the criminal offence of selling, distributing, importing and exporting of specified psychoactive substances are correct.

That is one aspect, and the other is the civil procedure which ultimately could become a criminal procedure in that a breach of the order of the court would become an offence of itself. I entirely agree with the sentiments expressed by the Deputy about the scourge of the illegal business that is transacted out of head shops. That is the very reason the Government has acted expeditiously in that the Minister for Health and Children brought to Cabinet a month or two ago the proposal to ban specified substances. That is why, in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, the issue of head shops was addressed, where significant raids were carried out on such premises around the country. Out of 102 known to the Garda Síochána, virtually every one was closed. A number, about 40 or so, have either re-opened or are still open. They may very well be selling non-psychoactive substances, but I understand they are being kept under significant review by the Garda.

As a result of the firm view the Government reached in its discussions in relation to this matter, the Minister, Deputy Pat Carey, the Minister for Health and Children and I met on a regular basis over the last couple of months, as did our officials, to see how we might deal with this once and for all, learning from experience in other countries. In those jurisdictions, they had been using misuse of drug-type legislation, but to a certain extent, as soon as they banned one substance, another was introduced. I saw this in the North some time back, when I met with David Ford, MLA, for the first time since he became Minister of Justice. On that day in particular, the UK Government announced it was banning specific substances, including mephedrone. It immediately occurred to me that if Britain and Northern Ireland were banning this, there might be a new aspect to cross-Border shopping if we did not do something quickly in relation to it. I subsequently found out that the UK had announced it was banning these, but had not gone through the procedure of notification under the technical directive required. It had to give three months notice or else use the emergency procedure.

As the House knows, we used the emergency procedure in relation to the banning of the specified substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and we also looked at the possibility then of bringing in separate criminal law legislation and using the civil procedure. We referred that to the European Commission when the heads of the Bill were finalised by Government, and the emergency procedure laid down in the directive gave us the approval to proceed. We also referred this to the European Commission when the heads of the Bill were finalised by the Government. The emergency procedure laid down in the directive gave us approval to proceed. As I stated on Second Stage, the Commission also indicated it would bring forward European-wide proposals on the banning of psychoactive substances.

I believe we are ahead of the posse on this. Recently, when I met with my UK counterpart, Theresa May, the UK authorities were very interested in the belt-and-braces approach we adopted in this matter. The UK authorities were having the same difficulty in that when a substance was banned, almost immediately another came on-stream. We saw that already when the Government made the order against specified substances under the Misuse of Drugs Act. We were under no illusion at the time that this would the end of the issue. We were proved correct in that as soon as these substances were banned, new substances such as Whack came on the market. Allied to what we are doing in this legislation, the Minister for Health and Children is proceeding to have the banning of such substances examined under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

My Department and the Department of Health and Children have used the Forensic Science Laboratory to identify psychoactive substances. Under this legislation the laboratory will be designated with the power to use others. While I understand the Deputy's intention to establish a regulatory agency, I do not have a great record for establishing such authorities. I may have set up a few but, by and large, I have tried to steer away from them. The Department of Health and Children is up to speed in banning specific substances as they come on the market.

This legislation which is relatively simple has been vetted by the Attorney General for its constitutionality. Since Second Stage, I had further discussions with the Attorney General on some of the amendments and he is still happy with the legislative procedures.

I cannot, therefore, accept these amendments.

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