Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. As someone who cut my teeth with him around the streets of Drumcondra in our early political days, it is a pleasure to see him in the position he now holds. I wish him luck and congratulate him on the fine work that he has done so far.

The Fine Gael motion asks the Government to do something about the escalating drug culture. I counter that by congratulating the Government on the fine work it has done in tackling this dreadful disease. The drugs strategy was ambitious and was probably the most comprehensive attempt ever made in this country to deal with the issue. This was correct given that drug use had risen to epidemic proportions at that time. The strategy clearly set out its aims and aspirations for the various Departments and agencies charged with the responsibility of conducting the process. Key to this was the implementation of the 14 drug task forces set up in Dublin, Cork, Bray and Galway.

The development of those task forces has been tremendous. I can speak for the task force in the north inner city of Dublin, the area represented by Senator Brady and me. Drugs have scourged the north inner city. The work of the local community voluntary groups, working in tandem with State agencies, has made tremendous strides in tackling drugs in the area. No one is suggesting for one moment that the problem is solved. However, positive signs are emerging from areas where the strategy is in place that work is being done and improvements are being made. Much of this is down to the additional resources that have been given to the ERHA for the expansion of its services. Someone mentioned that in 1995 there were 1,400 methadone treatment places. Tonight the Minister will tell us that there are now 6,800 places, 300 more than the target the strategy had set for the current time.

The number of treatment locations has also risen. This is despite the fact that there was quite an amount of selfish behaviour by some communities when the health board attempted to locate treatment centres in their areas. By and large, I blame the health board for this. At that time the board had a propensity to purchase buildings, develop them and then leak to the community what the houses were going to be used for. Naturally, the reaction of communities was that they did not want such facilities located at their back doors. Therein lay the problem. I do not blame the communities totally for this. While there was a certain selfishness involved, I criticised the health boards at the time for the way in which they went about this.

While treating those in our communities who are scourged with the habit of drug use is important, prevention is the most important thing. I know we are looking at an ideal world if we talk about cutting off supply.