Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

The motion invites us to consider a shift in how society addresses drug use, not through the lens of criminal justice but through public health. Decriminalisation does not mean legalisation; rather, it reframes drug use as a health issue, potentially reducing stigma and encouraging access to support services. While there are diverse views on its effectiveness, this debate offers an opportunity to explore evidence-based approaches that prioritise harm reduction and rehabilitation and community well-being.

Deputy O'Donoghue mentioned medicinal cannabis a while ago. I note the journey that one individual had to go to get medicinal cannabis to save her child's life. Today, I wish to acknowledge the extraordinary journey of Vera Twomey, a mother whose courage and determination have left a lasting mark on Ireland's healthcare landscape. Her daughter, Ava Barry, suffered from Dravet Syndrome, a rare and devastating form of epilepsy that caused her to ensure up to 20 seizures a day. Traditional medications failed to ease Ava's suffering and Vera was left with no choice but to seek alternative treatment. That treatment, medicinal cannabis, was not legally accessible in Ireland at that time so Vera did what no parent should ever have to do; she uprooted her family and moved abroad to the Netherlands, where Ava could receive the care she needed. This was not a decision made lightly. It was a desperate act of love driven by the need to save her child's life and it worked. Ava's seizures dropped dramatically and her quality of life improved in ways that conventional medicine had never achieved. Vera did not stop there. She walked literally from Cork to Leinster House twice to demand change. Her campaign was not only for Ava, but for every family facing similar struggles. Eventually, Ava was granted a special licence to access medicinal cannabis in Ireland, a breakthrough that came only after immense public pressure and personal sacrifice. Tragically, Ava passed away in 2023, but her legacy lives on. The inquest into her death led to the recommendation of Ava's protocol, a proposed national framework to guide the safe and compassionate use of unlicensed medicines, including medicinal cannabis. This protocol is a vital step towards ensuring that no other family has to fight so hard for care that should be accessible. Today, I call on every Member to support Ava's protocol and help make it national policy. Vera Twomey's fight was for her daughter but her impact reaches far beyond one family. As I said, I am conscious of the difficulty we had at the time to get that message across to the Government that there are medicines, in this case, cannabis, that could help somebody. If there is a drug out there that will help somebody's health, we should be there willing to help that, but decriminalisation is an area where we are going down a dangerous route on other drugs.

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