Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is almost a ritual to stand up and thank the Members who have tabled a motion. I believe quite sincerely, however, that Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan and her colleagues in the Technical Group have given us a considerable amount to think about. I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but I agree with Deputy Mattie McGrath on how to deal with motions, particularly motions such as this.

One may have seen me compare both motions. We are not that far apart in our views. The Government's amendment to the motion and the original motion, while not making the same points, share the same intent. The outcome we desire is most definitely the same. While there will always be occasions on which the Government will have to table an amendment to a motion, as when there are constraints upon it, there is a need to consider seriously how we address motions when we desire the same outcome. I spoke to the proposers of the amendment to the motion before yesterday's debate and noted a deliberate attempt to make it as similar to the original motion as possible and not to dilute the latter entirely. We need to take on board what Deputy Stanton stated. If nothing emerges from this debate except one development, it should be the establishment of an all-party committee to take a serious look at addiction.

I am not certain we can take everything on board. I never wanted and do not intend to be a social housekeeper. However, I believe there are steps we can take as parliamentarians on which we need not divide. It would be good to have an all-party committee because it is a matter of attitudes more than anything else.

There has been seismic attitudinal change down through the years on certain matters and we need to start a debate on substance abuse and what we do when we have substances on board. Issues arise regarding domestic violence, children, behaviour on the public thoroughfare, anti-social behaviour and how we interact with one another in certain aspects of our lives. It is important to address these.

The drugs strategy needs to be reinforced, reinvigorated and rolled out. The alcohol strategy, on which former Minister of State Deputy Róisín Shortall was working and which is virtually complete, needs to be considered. It is only on foot of intensive scrutiny by an Oireachtas committee that we can combine our considerable resources to bring about the attitudinal change we require.

When I see the effect of substance abuse on mental health in my area, or the effect of poor mental health on substance abuse patterns, I realise there is not a one-way street but a two-way street. Sometimes people become mentally unwell because they are homeless, and sometimes one becomes homeless because one is mentally unwell. Sometimes people drink because they are mentally ill and sometimes people are mentally ill because they drink too much. It is these issues that we need to start considering seriously.

It is not all bad news. I very much take on board what Deputy Wallace stated about young men's involvement in sport and the fact that they regard their bodies as temples and will not do anything to jeopardise their place on the team. However, we need to change our national attitude. We can do so and have done so in other areas.

As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan will know well, we are combating the stigma associated with mental illness and talking about it far more openly and positively. It is possible to change attitudes and we can do so if there is a combined effort. We do not always need adversarial debate across the floor of the House on certain issues. While I must commend the Government's amendment to the motion to the House, I believe the Members present understand the spirit in which it was tabled.

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