Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, is aware of this because he has attended meetings of quite a number of community projects in the north inner city, as well as meetings of the North Inner City Drugs Task Force. Last September I put a question to the Minister for Justice and Equality on this matter. At that time I was told that this is acknowledged as a problem in the Dublin city centre area. That was the gist of the answer I received. I was also told that An Garda Síochána continues to work closely with all of the relevant State agencies, but I have just outlined what gardaí are saying to me. I got that reply over a year ago, and in the meantime the situation has become much worse. We are not seeing the urgency that is needed here. I want to acknowledge the work of the drugs squad in Store Street and the sterling work of Inspector Des McTiernan for the urgency he has brought to this matter, but his hands are tied. That is the bottom line here.

The answer I have just been given does not get to the kernel of the issue. The Minister of State has said that it is an offence to supply these tablets by mail order, but they are coming in all the time through the Internet and various other means. While it is not an offence the receive them, the recipient is not entitled to possess them, but people are possessing them all the time. Even when gardaí find people in possession of these Z-drugs there is nothing they can do about it.

If we ever get around to drafting the legislation referred to, we cannot just try to control the Z-drugs issue, because no sooner will that be controlled than we will have Y tablets or X tablets or some other drug, such is the inventiveness of the chemists and dealers. I have absolutely no doubt that Z-drugs will be replaced by something else, which is why there is a need to get people together who really know what they are talking about to work on the legislation.

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