Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ministers for being here this evening. I raise the issue of the need for a better protocol to be put in place in relation to the offence of spiking. To explain what I am referring to, we are all aware that, when people are out enjoying themselves on social occasions, there are incidents of their drinks being spiked. Essentially, drugs are put into their drinks without their consent or knowledge. This is an extremely serious offence. In some cases, it can lead to much more serious offences such as sexual assault or violence. These incidents are a massive concern in our society and among our electorate.

What prompted me to put down this Topical Issue this week was a story that came to me from a good friend of mine regarding an incident involving her daughter. I obviously will not refer to names or anything but this happened in Cork in recent weeks. This woman's teenage daughter was out enjoying herself socially and suddenly became extremely intoxicated not because of the drink she consumed - she was only drinking moderately that evening - but because, in her strong view, her drink must have been spiked. She attended Cork University Hospital and it is from there that the story really begins to explain why there is a need for a far better protocol to be put in place for incidents like this. One of her parents had to come to the hospital to explain the situation. Effectively, her explanation of what had happened to her was being doubted. Because it was leaving certificate night, there was an assumption that she had drunk too much. Her story was not fully listened to and she was not attended to in the way she should have been. There was no mention of calling An Garda Síochána. There was no reference to a urine or blood test. Effectively, there was no protocol in place.

I appreciate that this straddles the Department of Health and the Department of justice. At the root of all of this is a very serious offence. Unfortunately, we are led to believe there is a significant incidence of this offence taking place across the country. Many campaigners in the area of sexual assault and sexual violence argue that it is a very significant issue. Mary Crilly, a renowned campaigner in the area of sexual violence who supports those who are victims of it and works closely with the Sexual Violence Centre Cork, has highlighted this as a significant issue and has pointed out that significantly better systems, protocols and laws need to be put in place.

It is an offence to spike someone's drink. I understand it is classified as a poisoning offence. I am interested in knowing how many convictions for this offence there have been. I suspect there have not been many at all because they are not fully investigated in most instances. That is very serious. The Government needs to become far more alert to this and put in place a significant strategy to deal with it. There are consequences to a spiking incident, whether the spiking of a drink or people being injected with something without their knowledge in a nightclub or other venue. If we do not follow through on this, it will become a much bigger issue. I ask that a protocol be developed and a strategy put in place by Government to address this issue once and for all. We must support victims, believe their stories and ensure they are given the benefit of the doubt in relation to their reports. A proper system must be put in place involving blood testing and sampling to determine what has been injected into victims' systems and there must be proper follow-through by An Garda Síochána comprising an investigation into the venue where the offence is likely to have happened and so on. That is what I am asking for here this evening.

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