Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be able to speak on this Bill on behalf of Fianna Fáil, with Deputy James Browne, spokesperson on mental health, and in my role as party spokesperson on drugs, and on tackling the country's crippling drug problem. It is an area in need of major reform in terms of our approach. Every day we hear stories of individuals, families and communities around the country that have been devastated by drugs. I welcome the renewed focused on this area, and also the development of the new national drug strategy which will shape our policies in trying to tackle this issue in the coming years.

I am pleased to be able to support the Bill, which addresses a problem that is currently causing major difficulties across the country. It is an issue the Fianna Fáil Party has raised for some time. In May, the Fianna Fáil Party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, highlighted how the main issue on the streets concerned tablets, specifically so-called Z-drugs. I also welcome the decision of the Government to appoint a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for drugs, as proposed by Fianna Fáil, and I look forward to working with the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. I wish her well in her new role.

Today's discussion highlights very clearly how we as legislators need to stay on top of a constantly evolving environment where clever and ruthless drug dealers use every loophole, grey area and opportunity they can to intimidate and prey on vulnerable people and make profits from the victims of drugs. It is regrettable that it has taken the recent spate of gang-related deaths to focus minds on this issue.

I am glad the Bill is being fast-tracked. As legislators, we must be proactive and aggressive in tackling major international criminal empires. People in all communities countrywide know of the devastation caused by heroin and narcotics on a daily basis. Addiction to the specific substances in the Bill is second only to alcohol abuse in Ireland. This shows the scale and prevalence of these drugs.

The drugs being discussed today, which are, of course, legally available through prescription, are causing just as much harm in the hands of drug dealers. Some drugs have been given colourful monitors such as clockwork orange, zimmos, blues and yellows, but people should not be fooled. There is nothing harmless about the damage these drugs are causing, their devastating health effects, the cost to our health services, the relationships that have been destroyed and the lives that have been ruined. We are banning these drugs because they are harmful and because the bodies trying to tackle the problem, such as community groups working in the inner city and the Garda, have sought this action to enable us to properly tackle criminal gangs.

We should also be mindful of the doctors and nurses in our emergency departments who are on the front line dealing with the very real impact of what happens when drugs like these are taken. For example, clockwork orange has been linked with several deaths. Former users of the drug have also been to the fore in highlighting the dangers of these types of drugs. One former user said: "When you take it you don't want to move, you don't want to talk. It is hard enough keeping your eyes concentrating on what's going on around you. Then when you don't have it, it is just a total different person. The whole paranoia sets in. Anxiety. It makes you feel very sick."

This move is not an attack on problem drug takers and those with addiction problems. There should be no confusion or obfuscation by Deputies in the House on this point. This is about empowering agencies to be able to target the gangs that are controlling the supply and sale of these drugs at every level. Like much of our drug problem, this is happening at every level. We might like to trick ourselves into believing that this is a problem in certain areas, and the media often label only socially and economically deprived in regard to drug issues. The problem is profound in those areas.

Indeed, just this week a report from the Clondalkin drugs task force, led by Dr. Aileen O'Gorman, found that drug-related harm consistently clusters in communities marked by poverty and social inequality. The research found that the situation was allowed to develop by the policies of successive Governments and year-on-year funding cuts. These communities simply cannot survive if this continues.

It is far too simple a narrative to think drug problems are simply confined to these communities. Such thinking will only lead to an escalation of the drug problem if it is allowed to fester. Drug dealers and gangs that are supplying heroin and feeding off addiction in the city centre are the very same drug dealers who are dealing to recreational, intermittent users who work on a daily basis but decide to consume their drugs of choice on a Friday or Saturday night. The substances may be different but the result is the same.

The victims in our city centres and in more deprived areas may be a more obvious symbol to point to the drugs scourge, but the task for all of us should be to make all people realise that every joint that is rolled, line of cocaine that is snorted and pill swallowed in a nightclub puts money directly into the pockets of criminals, the very same criminals who are now committing murders on a near-weekly basis. Whether one is rolling a joint or a €20 note, one is contributing to the carnage and terror being meted out. Trying to get this point across and make this connection is important and has to be highlighted. Equally important, however, is the need to develop proper treatment, rehabilitation, therapeutic and aftercare services. No progress can be made in this area until these services are in place.

As work gets under way on the new national drug strategy, more emphasis needs to be placed on prevention. This should start with our younger people. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on the teaching of SPHE in schools and informing children about the dangers of drugs. Former users, as well as health care professionals and law enforcement agencies, have a lot to offer in this regard and can play an important role in educating and preventing young people from going down the road of drugs. Many resources should be committed to local drugs task forces which are dealing with issues on the front line every day.

A widespread national public awareness campaign should be a key component of the next drugs strategy.

The provision of needle exchanges and methadone clinics serve a purpose but we must look at ways to improve such approaches to the drug-taking problem. One option is to legislate for the use of Suboxone, a methadone alternative which helps to reduce the symptoms of opioid dependency. Suboxone is less addictive and harder to abuse, making it safer for those with drug problems. Although it is expensive, a pilot programme of 80 users has delivered promising results and it has been recommended by the HSE steering group. It has been proven to be particularly successful in treating people who become addicted to over-the-counter drugs who, due to the stigma associated with methadone clinics, often go untreated. All the while their addiction grows and consumes them, their work, relationships, their family and their whole life.

A study by the British Medical Journalfound buphenorphine, the main component in Suboxone, is six times safer than methadone with regard to overdose. I would welcome clarity and an update from the Minister of State on whether she intends to legislate for Suboxone and its introduction in primary care centres to improve the lives of many people who face drug addiction. The Department of Health has also given its approval for Suboxone and I believe the House should work collectively to ensure the drug is dispensed. Equally, we should push for more GPs to embrace such replacement mechanisms, moving away from methadone clinics and delivering treatments at community level.

The next drugs strategy should also ensure greater levels of research are undertaken to ensure we compile a database of information and statistics to get a full, encompassing picture of the current situation. It is only with such information that can we properly and broadly tackle the problem. Ultimately, we should implement a national substance misuse strategy to respond to the shifts in patterns of drug use and to include the growing crisis with alcohol abuse. That would ensure equity of service provision in both urban and rural communities, assessment of need at community level, implementation of evidence-based interventions and measurement of outcomes.

It is important also to consider the work and report undertaken in the previous Dáil term by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality which was under the Chairmanship of the newly appointed Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton. Considerable research and work went into producing a report which examined the Portuguese model of tackling drugs. I look forward to examining the report further and other issues related to tackling the drugs problems during the term of this Dáil on the new Committee on Justice and Equality and in my role as the party's spokesperson on drugs. It is clear the collective will exists to do something. We now need to show a blend of compassion and understanding, determination and ruthlessness to tackle the significant drugs problem in this country effectively.

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