Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle nua. Níl sé fógartha go fóill so nílim chun a ainm a rá.

This is a very important debate and I welcome the legislation the Minister of State has proposed. It is timely and has been brought forward because of appalling deaths and criminality in parts of inner city Dublin. It is urgent and necessary because the substances named in this legislation, and I presume others which should be allowed to be added, will help fight the criminality involved. We must never forget that the communities that misuse drugs most are the ones that are most disadvantaged. They are the communities where people have the least education, the poorest health, the highest unemployment rate and the highest number of people in prison. We need a more holistic approach as a society to fight this. This is not an attack on the Government. We must have a new vision for change. It is obvious what we must do. We must go into the communities that suffer the greatest poverty and deprivation. We know this is what we should do, particularly in terms of education. Pre-school education must be an absolute priority. It makes a huge difference to children from disadvantaged homes to get an extra year or two of pre-school education. When they start normal school they can compete with their peers from any other part of the community. We need to accelerate the engagement and involvement in education and health care in these communities.

I used to be a teacher agus a Cheann Comhairle, bhí tusa i do mhúinteoir freisin tráth, and I know from my experience of 27 years in a classroom exactly how difficult people find it to come to school if they have not had a breakfast or if they do not have a parent at home. I know how difficult it is for a school to address the issues of young children with behavioural problems when there is nobody at home to look after them or when the culture in the home does not give high priority to education. I am not preaching but I am saying we need to intervene earlier. The significant increase in the ability of people to reach the very best in their lives in the most disadvantaged communities is measured by the earlier and the broader the education they get. That is the first area to tackle.

Affirming the importance of these communities and putting the resources into them is very important. I welcome the homework clubs, the garda liaison officers and all the community workers involved in many if not all of these communities. That is leading to change. The Minister of State is well aware of these problems in her constituency. Health care is also important, as is educating mothers and fathers in parenting. People have suffered in recent years, particularly in the communities where drugs are most prevalent because of the recession and increased unemployment and they have poor self-esteem. The poorer communities have suffered most in the recession. As the economy improves we must give more back to these communities, identify and prioritise their needs. Fighting drugs and fighting crime is very important but we must do much more. Many people grow up in communities that do not have proper sports facilities, sports centres or decent youth clubs. We need to support all of the existing organisations that are involved in these communities, we need to increase investment in those communities and the number of professionals who can intervene, support, acknowledge and work with people who are poor and outside our society.

It can be very sad when people get into trouble for taking drugs. I had a 14 year old student who once in his life took gas from a cylinder in a derelict house.

Unfortunately, he died that day. It was very sad because he never had a home or an opportunity to get what he should have got, namely, the care and support that he needed. That is an extreme case, but it did happen. All of us who worked with that child remember him well.

It is a tragedy for our society when we read about the inquests into those who have died as a result of taking drugs at parties or whatever. It is very sad to look at the faces in newspapers of the fine young people who had all of their lives to live but are in their graves because of drugs they should not have taken or because they took an overdose. As we all know, taking an overdose or drugs is often a cry for help. We can and must do more.

I am aware of a number of gardaí who have a vision for change. I am aware of a number of primary school teachers and gardaí who are alert to all of these issues. Like Deputy Shortall, I am aware of community workers involved in this area. The more involvement, investment and affirmation of individuals the better their lives and the better our society will be.

In the recent recession the question of homelessness, families being brought up in hotels and people living in abject poverty who did not know when they would be put out of their accommodation arose. The Government has taken action on that, which I welcome. Nevertheless, the voices that I hear articulating their needs, concerns and worries say they are still in danger. We still need to do more. I welcome and very much support the Government initiative on housing. The Chairman of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness, who came from the other side of the House, was exceptionally incisive and decisive in producing an excellent report. We need to deal with housing issues.

This is about giving people back their lives and giving communities a chance to shine. Nobody can argue against the idea that the better the educators in schools, the better children will perform. Some involved in education will disagree with me, but it is not about class size. Rather, it is about teaching and the capacity of teachers to educate and deliver. Teachers are not born. They are made, trained and get involved in their communities. We need and must have that. We need to put even more resources into training primary school teachers, in particular. We also need to put more resources into preschools and support all communities.

I again affirm the importance of what the Government is doing in this recession. I acknowledge the disaster the recession was for all of us, in particular for poor families. We must never forget their needs and the lives they have to face. We must never forget the children who go to school without breakfast in their stomachs and who go home to houses where nobody gives them a welcome smile at the door. These are the areas in which we have to intervene. Unfortunately, these are the communities that become involved in the abuse of alcohol and drugs. The issue is broader than that, but we need to focus in particular on those communities.

I refer to the policy of Tusla in regard to child care and the role and importance of regulating the care of children in care, in particular in the private sector.

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