Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I remember very well that everything came down on his head at the time. Last year the Labour Party called for the decriminalisation of users of illegal drugs in the case of people who were addicted. As Deputy O'Reilly said, many people are confused because they do not understand it is proposed to decriminalise the user only. It is important to get the message out that we are not saying we should legislate to decriminalise drugs. The problem is people are confused. I know from being in the courts that a great deal of Garda time is spent in dealing with minor cases of possession of drugs. As the motion suggests, the focus should rightly be on issues such as the violent intimidation of people by drug gangs and the extreme violence we have seen in recent years perpetrated by those running such gangs. That is where the Garda should be directing its efforts and resources. and it will do so if it is permitted and directed in that way. We congratulate gardaí at all levels on their significant successes in recent years. The force needs additional resources in its fight against the drug gangs.

The new national policy includes alcohol for the first time in the same strategy. This is a recognition that addiction is primarily a psychological and medical issue. We should remember that drug addiction is also a problem for some people who are abusing prescription drugs, rather than illegal substances. Last night's "RTÉ Investigates" programme showed how the use of benzodiazepines could have an impact. Prescription drugs are very good when used properly, but they can have unfortunate side effects and people can come to depend on them. The long-term use of such drugs carries with it a risk of addiction. We have to focus on a wide area. Addictive behaviour among those who participate in gambling is one of the wider issues. Many are hooked on making bets on their mobile phones. Some people are losing a fortune because they are making impulsive bets. In some cases, such bets are made late at night when people are not fully focused, perhaps because they have been drinking.

Addiction is a serious issue that affects the person who is addicted, his or her family and the wider community. We know that addiction to drugs occurs all over the country and involves a wide range of substances. This reflects two major changes dating from the 1980s.

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In the 1980s, during what became known as the heroin epidemic, the problem was concentrated in urban areas with high rates of unemployment and other areas suffering from deprivation and disadvantage. At the time the focus was on heroin. The first change is that drugs are now available and abused all over the country. There is hardly a village or community in rural Ireland that has been left untouched by the scourge of drugs. The Internet has facilitated access to drugs in new ways. Drug gangs are active in more areas than before, including rural areas and small villages. It is absolutely frightening.

The second change, on which the motion rightly focuses, is what is called poly-drug use, the use of a mixture of illegal drugs, prescription drugs and alcohol. When it comes to prescription drug use, there is also the question of whether the person was personally prescribed the drugs. The Government's new plan recognises poly-drug use, but the major increases in funding have been focused on medically supervised injection rooms - only for heroin - and the provision of the anti-overdose medicine naloxone and similar medicines. There has not been enough of a focus on how the substances involved in addiction have changed greatly and the need for policy to keep pace with these changes. There is a generation of people who are active drug users who are using anything and everything, except heroin. An important aspect of the motion draws attention to the need for the Government and agencies involved to consider poly-drug use and whether enough emphasis is being placed on the new challenges associated with it. The current structure of local and regional drugs and alcohol task forces covers the entire country, which is appropriate, given that drugs are a problem everywhere.

To explain the Labour Party's amendment to the motion, our concern is that even though addiction is a national problem, it is the case that the original logic behind the establishment of the local task forces in areas suffering from social and economic disadvantage remains valid. We are concerned that resources may now be spread too thinly. In the effort to illustrate some response to addiction, there is a risk that the Government’s plan will fail to dedicate enough resources to those areas with the greatest levels of material deprivation and income inequality. The Labour Party proposes to add two sections to the motion. We propose to add that the Dáil note, “While addiction to drugs is a problem across all of the country, neighbourhoods with a concentration of social and economic disadvantage are more seriously affected by drugs than other areas and merit a more substantive response from the State to address the underlying causes of drug addiction”. We further call on the Government to “Increase the level of funding available in the most socio-economically disadvantaged areas for youth work, family supports and community development services, and for training, education and employment supports, to help address the underlying causes of drug addiction”.

To be clear, drug addiction is more prevalent in areas with high rates of unemployment. It is more prevalent in areas where people do not have a comfortable upbringing and where there are fewer opportunities. Local drugs task forces have played an extremely important role in funding what are called tier one services in the HSE’s four-tier model of care for those affected by addiction. Most of the tier one service interventions are about social care, housing support, education, probation, vocational training, employment support, job seeking skills and family support. The tier two, three and four services are largely medical, up to hospital services in tier four. The tier one services deal predominantly with social and community issues, rather than medical services. The Labour Party is concerned that these valuable services have been given less priority by the HSE, in favour of a purely individual, medical approach to addiction. We must be clear that tackling addiction is a community issue and that it is absolutely necessary to retain a social and economic focus on how we deal with the underlying causes of drug addiction.

Addiction is not just a personal problem. Any person can become addicted to drugs, but a person needs a range of family supports and community based services to help him or her to get his or her life back on track as he or she moves away from drugs. The community based service end of the equation is absolutely essential, not just in dealing with a medical addiction but also to help people to get their lives back on track. We must allocate additional resources for education services, sport and other diversionary projects. A significant increase in resources for the local community task forces would be a good start. I concur with the view that they will only work well if the statutory authorities and agencies comply in full in meeting their obligations to attend and fully participate in them. It is sad to note that their attendance is patchy, to say the least. The Minister of State should call on them to honour and meet in full their obligations and duties.

The Labour Party will be supporting the motion, but it will also be supporting the amendments tabled by Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil. I have provided the rationale for the Labour Party amendments to the motion and hope Members across the House will support them. It is incumbent on us all to put our thinking caps on to find a solution to the problem.

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