Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Joan Collins and my constituency colleague, Deputy McNamara, for sharing time in order that I might speak on this very important issue. I commend the Labour Party on using its Private Members' slot for this motion. I also commend an Teachta Gino Kenny on the introduction of his Bill last week. They are all positive measures on this important issue and, crucially, they create the space for discussions to take place in this House.

I speak as a representative of the people of Clare but also as a mother, sister, daughter and someone whose partner has been impacted by this issue. I know at first hand the negative consequences of criminalisation, namely, the lasting effects, the anxiety, the shame, the fear and the isolation that come with it, not to mention the stigma. The number of people prosecuted for possession for personal use has increased over the past 25 years by 484%, with more than 250,000 convictions. Criminalisation simply has not worked, end of, and there is the social cost of relying on punitive measures that do not deter drug use. They drain services that could be invested in evidence-based services and, in some cases, they have forced these users into the Prison Service, which, as we have known for many years, is a school of criminality. Behind the user there is more to the story. There may be physical health issues, trauma, mental health problems or abuse. Criminalisation does not address these issues.

The medical cannabis access programme, MCAP, when introduced, was a positive move but it is far too restrictive, especially when compared with approaches in other high-income countries. Thousands of people on this island who suffer with chronic pain, for example, still cannot get access. Instead, they are criminalised. Ireland now has the joint highest rate of drug-induced deaths among 16 to 64-year-olds in the European Union, whereas countries throughout the world are expanding the decriminalisation of drugs. Portugal led the way, as we know, and 20 years later, 31 countries have decriminalised drug possession for personal use in some way, so Ireland would not be an outlier. We need the immediate establishment of a citizens' assembly on drugs and a commitment for it to commence its work in January.

See this speech in context