Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank Deputy Gino Kenny, who consistently brings this issue to the floor of this House. We need more politicians to show his leadership. I say to those in the Gallery today that they are going to change this country for the better with their advocacy and support for Bills like the one Deputy Kenny has brought today.

I am at this for approximately ten years. Ten years ago I was sat down by Anna Quigley of CityWide, who told me what decriminalisation meant. She said it is not about the decriminalisation of drugs as much as it is about the decriminalisation of people. This debate is really about people more than it is about drugs. For the record, we support this Bill. The Labour Party believes in the decriminalisation of the drug user and the legalisation and regulation of cannabis as well. Why is it about people and why do we not get anywhere? It is because the institutions of the State, those status quowarriors, just do not like the people that this affects. I have often said that if the number of cattle died in Ireland from an overdose at the same rate as people die of drugs, we would have a national conversation. Everything would be shut down and there would be emergency Cabinet meetings.

We just do not like people who take drugs. That is why we do not do anything about it and people can use dehumanising, derogatory terminology about people who take drugs all the time and never be called up on it. Those primarily affected by this issue are disproportionately from lower socioeconomic backgrounds such as migrants, people from the LGBT community and people with disabilities because they are seeking connection. We do not like talking about trauma, hurt or abuse - things inside ourselves for which we find something to use in order to connect. We do not like talking about all those issues. We dehumanise and denigrate those who take drugs and do anything we can to stop the discussion about the person.

Let us talk about the people. It was mentioned that there were 12,000 charges in 2022. That equates to approximately 6,400 people who were put in front of a court and accused by the State for being in possession of something they were going to use themselves. I was Minister of State with responsibility for drugs at one point. I was encouraged to go to the drug court, which was seen as progressive and having a different approach. I went and sat on the back bench. All I saw was a court full of poor, sick people. Poor, sick people do not belong in a courtroom. Some 70% of drug cases in our courts are for possession for personal use. It is a complete and utter waste of Garda time because it is actually about a war on people. It is not a war on drugs; it is a war on people who take drugs. It is a total misunderstanding of the nature of addiction; if we just ban this stuff, people will stop taking it and we will just arrest the people who take it and everything will be fine. Our society and status quowarriors believe they are just not powerful enough to do anything about it. I witnessed it on Saturday. I was walking through town and at the top of Talbot Street, two garda were searching a young fella. In plain sight, they demonstrated to the world that this person had no power and they could do that to him because it was about drugs. It is not actually about the drug;p it is about the person we do not like. That is what it showed me. Here is a newsflash: people in every walk of life, from all over the country, in every income bracket, including in politics, journalism, the Judiciary and the Garda, take drugs but they do not end up in court because this is actually a point about social justice. The people who end up in front of courts are those who society feels do not have power.

This is a discussion about power and people. Do we honestly think we will affect a person's life for the better by giving them a criminal charge? Do we genuinely think giving a young person or a person of any age who is taking something for their own personal use a criminal charge will correct their behaviour? We are more likely to make that person trust the State and its agencies less, separate themselves from the State and find themselves more in the clutches of gangs and the people who peddle this stuff. if I am a young person in his or her late teens or early twenties and I find myself in court, am I going to have a positive view of the Garda, the judicial system and society or will I double down on this behaviour and make a particular life choice at that point?

This policy of criminalisation makes a lot of people rich and a lot of people miserable. It is not working. It only continues to work because the people it affects are disproportionately poorer and less powerful. I know what happens in middle Ireland, where people are horrified by politicians using words such as "decriminalisation". We are actually talking about people. I wish the people horrified by politicians such as Deputies Kenny and Gannon, myself and others who talk about this would realise it is all around them in their communities and families. The hypocrisy of this debate is stunning. Addiction is in every family. The question, fundamentally, is if somebody in their family had an addiction or drug-use issue, and if they love that person, who would they call? Would they ring a garda, counsellor, nurse or doctor first? Clearly, all of us would want to ring somebody who might help and show that person compassion. Let us be clear what the Labour Party wants. We want, when it comes down to it, the legalisation and regularisation of cannabis. Let us realise this drug is an awful lot less harmful than a drug that is perfectly legal, costs the State approximately €3.8 billion a year and is a contributory factor in abuse, violence, drink-driving deaths and antisocial behaviour, that is, alcohol. We need to wise up and think about the people affected by this issue, who heretofore we did not think were powerful enough. The Gallery will demonstrate to all of us just how people affected by or care about this issue are finding their power and voice.

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