Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many people have spoken about the drugs task forces and I am very familiar with the drugs task forces in my area and the work they do and do not do. I have concerns, like everyone else who has spoken, about the loss of funding to drugs task forces down through the years. I am not going to stand here and repeat what I have said before, that is, that money was not there. When there is no money at home, one has to choose what one wants to pay and does not want to pay. It is like a household budget in many ways - one has to reduce certain things. I have concerns about the drugs task forces. I have made this very clear in my own constituency. Some of them are doing great work and others are doing the work they should be doing. We have to find out why. Is it all about funding? If it is, then no matter how much money we pour into them, they will not achieve what they are supposed to. I think it is about the organisations themselves. When they started, in 1996 or 1997, I remember going to one or two of their meetings and just sitting there, listening and looking at the work that was going on outside. I was very impressed. I hear people criticising drugs task forces - I have heard them here - and I have heard them say how well they are working. I am of the same frame of mind. I believe some of them are working very well and others are not and we need to find a balance somewhere to see why that is not happening.

I have concerns when people are trying to do good work in communities. I have been a member of a community hall for a long time and we have to have cake sales just to run bits and pieces. We should be supporting voluntary community workers out there who are contributing to keeping children out of harm's way. That is why I have great respect for the scouts, the guides, the GAA and the football teams, and the men and women who run football teams every weekend, because they are living in the heart of the community and they want to help the children because they know that if they do not the children are going to find themselves in deep trouble.

This is a new job to me. I am looking for as much help as I can get. I am looking to consult with as many people as I can, within the House and outside, on how the national drug strategy should be formed in the coming months. I have spoken to some people in here and in the Seanad. I have sat with Deputy John Curran and got his knowledge of his time in this job and I have taken on board much of what he said to me. I have spoken to Pat Carey and hope to meet him again and to have an in-depth discussion with him. This is a problem for all of us. It is not down to one individual or one Minister, it covers a wide range of Departments, two of which I am attached to. I want people to take the opportunity when we come to the open consultation process to put forward their ideas about what was good in the last strategy and what needs to go into the next one.

I am going to refer to part of the speech, if that is okay with the Acting Chairman, and he can stop me if I go over my time. I thank all the Deputies for their deep understanding of what drugs mean to their communities. I mean that sincerely. Every one of the contributors to the debate raised issues that have a real sense of value and should be part of the national drug strategy. All of us seek to prevent the misuse of dangerous substances by controlling the availability of those substances to the public, and deterring those who seek to make them available in an unsafe way. Problem drug use continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing our country. Somebody said to me, and I agree, that the drug problem has not really been taken seriously by any political party in this country, either now or in the past.

We have to change that and face up to the challenges because this affects people's lives. I am a firm believer that people with addictions are human beings. They are citizens of this country and have not fallen out of the sky like aliens. We have to look at drug addiction as an illness because if we do not we defeat the whole purpose of putting money into communities via drugs task forces. We have to treat people as individuals as tomorrow it could happen to my son, daughter or grandchildren or anybody in this House. Only when we start believing this to be a health issue and that the solutions must be led by health will things start to change.

Significant challenges face our country. Drug use results in damaging consequences for the individual concerned and for their families and also impacts the wider community and society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction. Those struggling with drug problems are often the most marginalised in our society, and the word "marginalised" is a word I have heard many times. They may have multiple, complex, interlocking needs such as those related to poverty, housing, poor health and education which require multiple interventions involving a range of different agencies.

A number of Deputies have raised concerns about criminalising addicts and have suggested the decriminalisation of the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. The Portuguese drug model has been mentioned as a model which Ireland might follow. In Portugal, it remains illegal to possess drugs for personal use. However, the offence is not a criminal one but is dealt with through the commission for the dissuasion of drug addiction, which can impose a range of sanctions. Persons addicted to drugs may be admitted to drug rehabilitation facilities. Every Member who has spoken in this debate has mentioned the lack of drug rehabilitation facilities.

Under the new drug strategy we will examine the approaches to drug policy and practice in other countries. We must look at the models of Portugal, Australia, Canada and European countries and take what we can from them. The development of the national drugs strategy will include a comprehensive consultation phase with key stakeholders, including key Government Departments, agencies, the community and voluntary sector and family networks. Consultation supports greater transparency, which is an important principle of good governance. It helps to ensure that the operation of Government is conducted with greater clarity and openness. For these reasons, my preference is for an inclusive consultation process which will give people the opportunity to engage and will allow for their views to be heard on this important issue to help define the strategy and the steps that should be taken to tackle drug problems in the coming years.

All interested parties will be invited to make written submissions regarding the shape and content of the next national drugs strategy. There will also be a number of special events to hear the views of the key stakeholders and those using the service and their families, as well as those living in communities directly impacted by the drug problem. I am particularly keen to hear from the ordinary members of the public and those whose voice may be seldom heard on this subject such as young people, Travellers, the Roma community and the LGBT community.

The Department of Health is in the process of planning the arrangements for the consultation. It is expected that this phase can be initiated by early September and feedback from the process will be written up in a report which will be considered by a steering committee which has been set up to give guidance and advice on the development of the strategy. I was struck by Deputy Curran's suggestion that we come back into the Dáil for a further debate when the report is ready.

This legislation is not the Government's sole response to tackling the drug problem. I remind Members of the commitment in the programme for Government to a health-led response to drug problems and to legislate for supervised injecting facilities. It is my intention to publish the necessary legislation in the autumn. I thank all those who have participated in the debate on this Bill. It is most helpful to me to hear their ideas on the challenges and possible solutions to addressing the drug problem in this State.

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