Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill. Drug misuse is a societal issue. I passionately believe there are communities around the country that are affected by drugs, not just in the larger urban centres. We, as a society, have been ignoring their plight, collectively and individually for a long time. Some politicians more than others play on people's fears rather than focus on providing solutions to the problem. They constantly do people down, play the big bad wolf or encourage the State to act as Big Brother looking down on people without engaging with them.

In the past 60 years or so major housing developments were provided in Limerick and parts of Dublin where crime has continued to flourish. The in-depth media reports on such areas go into the background and analyse generational poverty and drug use. They show how such people are outside of societal norms. They drop out of school early and fall prey to a raft of issues. The major housing developments of that time were built without the proper infrastructure to make sure a normal society could develop. The State has paid an enormous price for the policies of developing major urban centres such as Moyross in Limerick and in some parts of Dublin, and we continue to pay the price. Hardly a month goes by without a shooting incident in parts of this country, which are all drug related. Significant amounts of money can be got from drugs and major issues arise in terms of how the drug problem is being addressed.

We have called for the Bill that is before us to come to the House for some time because of the devastation caused to families and communities. Significant amounts of money from various State agencies are put into resource centres and trying to deal with the issues. More resources are required, especially given the cutbacks that ensued during the years of austerity in recent times, but we must examine where the money is going. I believe between 15% and 20% of society is not engaged. I include the very youngest to the oldest people in that cohort. They are not engaged in remaining in school. They are not engaged in second level education or any aspect of the State or society. That is having a disastrous consequence on young people.

Reference has been made to the abject poverty that exists in other countries, but we have abject poverty in our communities. Young children are being brought up in a climate of fear. We hear various stories in that regard. We must consider how people are being treated by society and what policies are needed. Such communities formed 3% to 4% of society 25 years ago but they have now grown to 15% and their number is increasing. Major social policy initiatives were taken by various Governments of all hues since Independence. I refer to housing and free education, among others. We must examine the development of policies to deal with the misuse of drugs but we must also focus on those areas where drug usage is highest and where people's health is a lot poorer than the average. Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for your indulgence. I will give the remaining few minutes to my colleague, Deputy Eugene Murphy.

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