Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister envisage a timeline regarding the implementation of measures to drastically reduce the availability of drugs to those in our prison system? Members of the public often, and quite rightly, comment on the reported casual availability of drugs and mobile phones in prisons. Some of the most hard-core drugs are apparently available in prisons and it is reported that inmates are using them quite openly. This beggars belief and people are wondering why action has not been taken. What measures will be introduced to combat this problem and what will be the timeline involved?

A recent edition of the Evening Heraldcontains some stunning images of people shooting up in broad daylight in the Dublin's north inner city in a location close to children's play areas and a number of national schools. It is reported that each year up to 12,000 used needles are removed from Dublin city centre streets and disposed of by organisations such as Dublin City Council, the Ana Liffey Drug Project and Dublin Town, which represents traders. That is a staggering number of used needles and we just do not know how many more might be found on the city's streets. The report to which I refer highlights the crisis that exists in Dublin's city centre in the context of open drug taking and the consequences that flow from it.

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