Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I thank Deputy McGrath for submitting this Topical Issue and acknowledge the concerns raised in relation to the very serious issue of drink spiking. Spiking is a crime that preys on vulnerability, that undermines consent and that can have devastating consequences for victims. The Government is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

The final implementation plan for the third national zero-tolerance strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence was launched in June and sets out the delivery targets and collective action needed to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence to the end of 2026.

The programme for Government also includes a commitment to introduce stronger laws to combat the spiking of drinks. Currently, there is no specific crime type of spiking. Spiking may be reported as an independent offence in the form of poisoning, or it may be used by offenders to facilitate the commission of other crimes. Spiking a person’s drink or spiking someone by injection are, in effect, poisoning offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, which can result in a three-year prison term. Section 12 of that Act applies to anyone who intentionally or recklessly administers a substance capable of interfering substantially with another person’s bodily functions, which explicitly includes inducing unconsciousness or sleep. A person guilty of the offence of poisoning may be subject to a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment. Depending on the nature of the substance administered, it may be possible to charge a perpetrator with endangerment under section 13 of the Act. This provides that it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly engage in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another. The offence of endangerment carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.

An Garda Síochána takes all reports of spiking seriously and investigates thoroughly to determine the exact nature of each incident, including through the results of toxicology reports. The nationwide roll-out of the divisional protective services units has ensured that victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based crimes presenting to An Garda Síochána are met with a consistently high standard of specialist, sensitive, professional and expert assistance. There is now a protective services unit in every Garda division. An Garda Síochána advises any victim of an incident or spiking to report it to their local gardaí. The Garda continues to engage with partner agencies in monitoring the reporting of these matters for early warning of any identified patterns. These partner agencies include the HSE, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the Health Products Regulatory Authority. Any incident of this type, including those where there is evidence to suggest a link with spiking, will be investigated either by local gardaí or those supported by or attached to the divisional protective services unit.

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response. I acknowledge that the Government is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach in relation to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. Of course, I also acknowledge the zero-tolerance strategy and its recent launch, and also the additional funding provided. It is welcome that the programme for Government specifically includes a commitment to introduce stronger laws to combat the spiking of drinks. However, as has been reported, there is currently no specific crime type of spiking. That is a very significant issue.

With all due respect to the Minister of State, his response referred very much to the criminal offence of poisoning and to potential penalties, including the three-year sentence, but what I am trying to focus on in particular are the measures in place when someone presents in a hospital in the strong belief that their drinks were spiked. Often, such people will have been enjoying themselves and having a few drinks, but nothing excessive, and will suddenly have got into a state not explained by the amount of alcohol consumed, for example. The logical conclusion will be that something was put into their system without their consent.

We need to be very careful about how we approach these situations. In this particular case, the system let the individual down. There was no proper seizure or protocol put in place. Doubt was cast on the person’s story and that is not acceptable. The benefit of the doubt needs to be with the victim in these scenarios and we need to ensure there is a proper set of procedures in place such that if someone believes their drink was spiked some evening or on a night out, a blood sample will be taken, the Garda will be alerted and the incident will be reported and logged, with proper follow-through. I would be genuinely interested in knowing how many convictions have occurred in relation to the offence of poisoning and drink-spiking incidents. I know the Minister of State may not have that figure this evening, but this is something we should highlight.

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Again, I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very serious issue. I acknowledge that the incident in question was very serious for the person and family on whose behalf he is raising this matter. Combating and eradicating sexual and gender-based violence is one of our core priorities. The programme for Government reaffirms our commitment to introducing stronger laws to combat the spiking of drinks. This is a specific and targeted commitment to protect people, particularly in the night-time economy, and to ensure our laws are robust enough to hold perpetrators to account. It sits within the overarching goal of the prosecution pillar of the zero-tolerance plan, which is to ensure that our justice system effectively vindicates the rights of victims and survivors. Our Department will progress this important work to strengthen the law, ensuring those who carry out this cowardly act face the serious consequences they deserve.

While the zero-tolerance plan contains 95 distinct actions across prevention, protection and prosecution, the promise to strengthen laws against drink spiking is a fundamental component of our mission. It demonstrates our resolve to address all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and to adapt our laws to tackle specific threats as they arise. As a Government, we are dedicated to making our communities safe for everyone.

I assure the Deputy I will make the Minister and the Department, and, by extension, An Garda Síochána, aware of the issue he has raised here on the floor of the Dáil in view of the seriousness of the incident and his call for a review of the protocol.