Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The situation is probably worse than the Deputy indicated. Up to 75% of the entire world’s illicit opium production comes from the area in question. It reached a peak in 2012, surpassing the ten-year high recorded in 2007. It is expected to continue to grow.

The European Union, the United States, the World Bank and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization are putting in place programmes to support the cultivation of alternative crops to poppy production. I referred earlier to the cultivation of saffron, as well as rose oil, a high-value export product, and grapes. The strategy is to provide for high-value alternatives to undermine the production of opium.

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