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

As my party's spokesperson on the national drugs strategy, I am pleased to contribute to the debate on the Bill. I and my party are always open to considering new and innovative ways to tackle drug abuse and help those who suffer with drug addiction. The nature of, and problems associated with, drug-taking are very different today from what was happening over 30 years ago so, as legislators, we have a responsibility to respond and to be open to new and more nuanced approaches as required. Fianna Fáil supports this Bill as we are of the view it will help to reduce the incidence of drug-related deaths. We believe a supervised injecting centre in Dublin should be introduced on a pilot basis, as provided for in the legislation. There should be regular reviews to measure the success of the centre. Input from stakeholders, the Garda and local groups will be important in this regard. How this policy is implemented will be crucial to its success or failure.

I am equally of the view that the introduction of such facilities will not solve or end the scourge of problem drug taking in Ireland. A supervised injecting centre should be viewed as just a part of a range of measures and services to address this problem. It more important that the Government acts to fund and deliver more detoxification centres, more support services for those who want to tackle their addiction, more emphasis on education and prevention and more focus on treatment and rehabilitation. It is disappointing that the programme for Government formally proposes few other measures. This centre is one of the positive measures proposed in the programme but we must outline further measures that could positively assist in addressing many of the issues with drug abuse in Ireland. The national drug strategy is due to be published later this year and I hope the Minister takes on board the submissions made by my party, other parties in the House and the many interest groups to prioritise these measures.

Ireland has the highest rate of intravenous heroin use in Europe. Consequently, the rate of drug-related deaths here is three times the European average, which is shocking. Two people die from drug related deaths every day in Ireland. This is simply unacceptable. Everybody should reflect on those figures.  The Minister referred to the many other morbidities associated with injecting, such as hepatitis C and HIV. There is a direct correlation between those and allowing addicts to be left on our streets, without intervention or harm reduction. The positive aspect of the Bill is that we can provide people with access to a wraparound service when they are in such a vulnerable position.

We must ask how we allowed this situation to develop and, more importantly, what we must do to address it. Since being appointed party spokesperson on drugs I have been visiting and engaging with stakeholders in the area of drug treatment, prevention and rehabilitation. I have met with relevant groups and many of the task forces in Dublin and across the country. We cannot fool ourselves that this is just a Dublin or urban problem. It is a problem for every household on every road across the country. Drug taking is a problem that affects every family. I have visited the Tiglin residential treatment centre in Wicklow and the Rutland Centre and I have met with local and regional drugs and alcohol task forces. I visited the Aiséirí Aislinn centre in County Kilkenny, one of the country’s few adolescent treatment centres, which has struggled to get the proper level of funding to provide its excellent service for vulnerable adolescents. In Dublin city, I visited Merchants Quay Ireland and the Ana Liffey Drug Project, to name just two. All of these groups are doing admirable work, in the most testing of environments with the tightest of budgets. The latter two have recommended the introduction of a supervised injecting facility. Both of the groups see and experience daily how drugs destroy lives and devastate families. They are well placed to offer input in this area.

A supervised injecting facility can only be successful if it is considered the start point for recovery, not the end point for shooting up. Injecting facilities must be a pathway to effective treatment and rehabilitation. That is the constant challenge. The level of services the HSE provides is not enough, and the level of funding is always difficult in the context of the health budget. It is hard for people who do not have a voice to get the funding they deserve. If we enact this legislation, and I hope it will progress quickly through the Oireachtas, we must then discuss how we give hope and proper intervention and treatment to people in such a vulnerable situation. The real challenge is how we match this approach with the services they deserve. The injecting room should be part of a network of services housed in the same centre to facilitate this. If successful, this centre has the potential to become a broader, viable public health measure. At the very least, it has the potential to provide individuals with some dignity and a safe place while we work to help them overcome addiction.

I understand the concerns that have been raised about pursuing this measure. However, we must have an evidence based approach. Injecting facilities are a relatively new development and much of the research is still in the early stages. Studies by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction indicate injecting centres can be successful in reducing drug related deaths and morbidity. There have also been reported decreases in drug related litter in many of the cities where they have been introduced. Overall, the evidence does not support the contention that injecting centres lead to an increase in drug-related crime in an area. We must adhere to an evidence based approach to this discussion, not a mythical approach that is put forward by stakeholders who do not have the interests of the vulnerable people concerned in mind. They must focus on the evidence, not the mythology. There are now approximately 90 injecting centres across Europe and nobody has died in any of them. Staffed by trained health care professionals, the safety of these centres should not be questioned.

There is also an economic argument for injecting centres. When drug users are using the same facilities, it frees up health and other resources considerably. When an injecting centre opened in Australia, there was an 80% drop in ambulance call outs. Paramedics were no longer having to deal with overdoses or related incidents, which meant they were better able to respond to emergencies and ultimately save lives. When considering other areas of health care, including community based health care, we are focusing on primary care and making interventions before people end up in an acute situation. The same should apply for the vulnerable addicts who are on our streets. They should have a place where they can access harm reduction, so an acute situation does not arise for them and they do not overdose and end up in hospital for a period of time. A wraparound intervention and treatment for them is what this Bill seeks to provide.

To return to the programme for Government, I am pleased there is now a recognition of the need to promote the health aspect of dealing with drug addiction. As I said in my party’s submission to the national drugs strategy, tackling the country’s crippling drug problem requires major reform in our overall approach. Every day we hear stories of individuals, families and communities around the country that have been devastated by drugs. The renewed focus on this area is welcome, as is the development of the new national drug strategy which will shape our policies in trying to tackle this problem in the coming years. The passing of the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act last year highlighted clearly how legislators must 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.

Drug-related harm consistently clusters in communities marked by poverty and social inequality. Research shows that this situation was allowed to develop by the policies of many Governments and year-on-year funding cuts. We must be mindful of this. The economy is growing at present but if it should decline, we must ensure that the core services for the most vulnerable people are maintained and that there is a proper funding model for the services to continue the level of intervention they are currently providing. That is the importance of harm reduction. Equally important is the need to develop proper treatment, rehabilitation, therapeutic and aftercare services. In this regard, we have proposed in our submission the roll-out, on a pilot basis, of therapeutic communities within prisons to help offenders overcome drug addiction. The Joint Committee on Justice and Equality, under its Chairman, Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, is trying to engage in a better way on penal reform and on how to provide the level of intervention in our prison system that is not currently being provided.

As work gets under way on the new national drugs strategy, more emphasis should be placed on prevention and education. This should start with our younger people. Greater emphasis must be placed on the teaching of social, personal and health education, SPHE, in schools and informing children about the dangers of drugs.

Former users, as well as health care professionals and gardaí and inter-agency collaboration, are crucial in this regard and can play an important role in educating and preventing young people from going down the road of using drugs.

Ultimately, I am trying to highlight the need for a multifaceted, multi-agency approach which is properly resourced to tackle drug addiction. The injecting centres in this legislation, if correctly introduced and managed, can be an important step on the road to tackling this problem once and for all.

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