Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

I will raise with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the protocols that are or could be put in place if someone presents at an emergency department who believes their drink may have been spiked or they may have been spiked. It is obviously important, if that occurred, for the purpose of the investigation that samples are taken so that proof can be provided that the spiking did, in fact, occur. It can be difficult for an individual, if it is left for a lengthy period of time, to prove that the spiking occurred when it did, and obviously the corresponding offence occurred when it did immediately after the spiking.

I was encouraged by the fact that my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched an information campaign in December 2021 with the Union of Students in Ireland to raise awareness of the signs of drink spiking and to give guidance on how to help a potential victim. I think the Deputy will agree that this is a particular concern for young people, particularly students, when they are out socialising and having a good time. The Deputy is correct that it is a particularly egregious and nasty form of criminal act that seeks to make a person even more vulnerable than they may be on a particular occasion.

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