Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Once again we are going to have a lot of agreement in here. I welcome the Labour Party bringing this motion forward from the point of view of having an opportunity to speak, because we do not talk sufficiently about this issue and the impact drug addiction has on our communities. It is welcome that there is an element of people coming around to the health-led, trauma-led, harm reduction methodology that is required for dealing with drug addiction, that we accept it is based on poverty and intergenerational trauma, and that there is an understanding that if we continue doing what we are doing, it is not going to work. The war on drugs, whether carried out by Ronald Reagan or by Donald Trump today, is a failed enterprise.

Show me your budget and I will tell you what you value. It was said to me previously by someone in the Minister's position that until it is sufficiently important that this issue is at Cabinet, nothing is going to change. We can all mention the really good projects we have in our constituencies such as The Red Door Project, Turas, FASN and MQI. Even homelessness services have to deal with a huge cohort of people who have drug issues but the regional drugs task forces are just about keeping the system going; I would describe it as keeping the engine going with baling twine.

We have not got real in any way on this issue. Drug addiction is everywhere. We all know there is not a bar in operation that does not have a well-functioning toilet facility, and cocaine is everywhere. You just cannot avoid it. I welcome the work that has been done by the GAA and other sporting groups on it, but with all of that and the need to tackle the issue, the fact is that the biggest impact is still in disadvantaged, working class areas. We can walk up and down the streets and we will know who the drug dealers are and the houses they live in. It has gone on for far too long. That is with all the really good work that has been done at times by the Garda and the Criminal Assets Bureau, and we need to see more of that. We need to protect those who fall into addiction and give supports to those families who require them at an early stage. We need to make sure we invest in the likes of The Greentown Project and move people away from criminality in every way we possibly can.

I have also said before that we need a real conversation. It is also about the chaos that impacts on people's lives, the deaths that have occurred, and the drug debt and intimidation that have impacted on a generation of drug addicts' families. We also have to deal with the chaos that is caused to communities. Whether we are talking about Tusla, the Garda, the local council or all those other powers, educational services and everything, the tools and the powers are not there to deal with what is needed in supporting the addict, supporting their family and those communities that are impacted. I ask that we get real and that we have a holistic conversation. We talk about whole-of-government approaches but we generally do not see them. This is just too costly to individuals and to society in general.

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