Results 1-20 of 95 for drugs speaker:Mark Ward

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: I thank the witnesses. We know that the war on drugs is not working and having this committee is proof that it is not working. If it was working, there would be no need for any of us to be here today. The citizens' assembly was the same. I was interested in what was said on race and class in the war on drugs. I come from an area of disadvantage. Stop and search was something I grew up...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: I have a question for Dr. Ó Concubhair. We heard Deputy Stanton earlier speaking about unintended consequences that happened in British Columbia with the increase in public drug consumption and the impact that was having on the well-being and wider society. Are there any other unintended consequences that we should be concerned about, both positive and negative, if we were to move to...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: ...international experience and I thank them for bringing it to us. Deputy Chief Constable Wilson highlighted some of the unintended consequences of decriminalisation in British Columbia. The use of drugs in public spaces such as parks and beaches, and on public transport, had an adverse effect on society and small businesses. I am from an area that has been over the years, and is still,...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: I mentioned already that alcohol is legal but being drunk and disorderly is an offence. Was any consideration given to using simple public order offences to deal with problematic drug use?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: Just to follow Deputy Stanton's question on how it was decided what drugs would be decriminalised for personal use. Deputy Chief Constable Wilson's opening statement mentioned opiates, cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamines but she just mentioned fentanyl there. Given what Mr. Russoniello said about fentanyl being a driver for overdose and I know that in Oregon as well, fentanyl was included...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Mark Ward: I was not clear on Ms Wilson's answer. Would she still include fentanyl on the list of drugs she would decriminalise?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I thank the witnesses for their compelling statements. Nobody listening in will disagree that the war on drugs has failed. As Ms Eastwood said, prohibition is not working and punitive policies are killing people. Nobody can disagree with that. I have a couple of questions for Professor Stevens initially. He said that it is not just a question of a binary choice between prohibition and...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: One of the other issues that needs to be considered in the context of decriminalisation is the use of drugs in public spaces. Is there international best practice, examples of how that worked or different ways of doing it, where there were or were not punitive responses to using drugs in a public space?

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I thank the Chair. I will talk a bit more about practical matters. If we were to decriminalise drugs in Ireland tomorrow, it simply would not work. We do not have the necessary resources to direct people to health-led approaches. I have worked in front-line addiction services right across Dublin and outside of Dublin through the years. I have vast experience of working in services that...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (27 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I agree wholeheartedly. I do not know the statistics but there is a cohort of people who can use drugs safely in a recreational manner on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis wherever they choose. I 100% agree with that. My point, however, is that the citizens' assembly stated that people must be led into a health-led approach. If we are putting the resources into trying to help...

Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (25 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: ...for juries, including a new offence of jury tampering, and to end this nonsense of annual renewal, which will bring certainty to the process. We all want safer, vibrant communities without the fear of drug-debt intimidation. The Government's job is to put tools in the hands of the Garda and the courts to make this happen. If Fine Gael, the so-called party of law and order, were serious...

Committee on Drugs Use: Drug Use Policy: HSE, Department of Justice and Department of Health (20 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: ...ownership of their life when they run into a bureaucratic system that is there to maintain them on methadone. They have to be on a certain amount of methadone to go on detox, they cannot have certain drugs in their system to go on detox and so on. If you are trying to start in the community, where the problem probably begins, it makes it even more difficult. People I know well describe...

Committee on Drugs Use: Drug Use Policy: HSE, Department of Justice and Department of Health (20 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: ...their pocket. They see it as a way of escaping poverty. CAB was set up to tackle high-level organised crime and take the assets. It is a really welcome tool of the State. There are a cohort of drug dealers whose lifestyles do not match their means. You just need to go onto social media to see this. They are eating out in fancy restaurants. They are constantly going to football...

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: ...affected by addiction, but it is also disproportionately affected by poverty, and poverty underpins a lot of areas that are affected by trauma, which leads to high levels of addiction and adverse drug use. I have seen too many of my peers and family members succumb to a life of addiction over the years. Some people do not have an alternative. That was there and that was their way....

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I also want to talk about recommendation 17, which is about the decriminalisation of the possession of drugs for personal use. Speaking to people in the community, family members, and even people in Leinster House, there seems to be fear and confusion about what exactly this is. For example, decriminalisation of personal drug use does not mean that a criminal act carried out to obtain drugs...

Committee on Drugs Use: Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use: Discussion (13 Jun 2024)

Mark Ward: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I would like to pick up on one point. If anybody thinks that Ireland is not already a tourist destination when it comes to drugs, they have not been in Temple Bar over the last couple of years. This is part of the issue that we have. Alcohol is the most abused drug that we have in Ireland but the stigma is not the same. That is something that we have to...

Delivering Universal Healthcare: Statements (15 May 2024)

Mark Ward: .... In 2020, the Government announced plans to extend free GP care for children up to and including 12-years-olds. The Government legislated for under-eights, under-tens and under-12s but stopped the funding at eight-year-olds. The monthly threshold for the drugs payment scheme, which reduces the cost of medicines and equipment for families who do not qualify for medical cards, now...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Departmental Policies (30 Apr 2024)

Mark Ward: 611. To ask the Minister for Health for an update on Ireland's drug policy following the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs; the next steps following the recommendations from the Citizens' Assembly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19307/24]

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Report Stage (24 Apr 2024)

Mark Ward: ...add value. It is not only me saying that as it is evidence-based and has been proven. I worked in addiction services for countless years before I came in here and I have seen people with drug problems, alcohol problems and gambling problems. I have also seen these people recover. I have also seen these people come into organisations, whether to work directly for organisations or to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: An Garda Síochána (22 Feb 2024)

Mark Ward: ...list waiting for social housing. That council's process is that it seeks some sort of Garda vetting, or some sort of okay from a superintendent, that the person moving in has not got a record. Drug charges or violence are usually the two things they look for in that regard. I ask for some sort of cross-departmental co-operation to see if there is any assistance we can give the...