Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his comprehensive contribution. The National Advisory Committee on Drugs has produced a report. I wish to refer specifically to the North Western Health Board and highlight the fact that it has the lowest rate of substance misuse in the country, North and South. That is welcome. In recent years the North Western Health Board has operated an effective PR campaign and through the schools, teachers at primary and second level working in the area of drug awareness ought to receive commendation. There is no room for complacency in the area of drug abuse.

Schoolchildren as young as nine years of age are smoking. While smoking is not illegal, it is a gateway to the smoking of hash or cannabis. I have evidence from many throughout Europe, especially from the Scandinavian countries, that cannabis is a gateway to the use of other illicit drugs. I welcome the fact that the national drugs strategy is looking at the issue of awareness, which is the key at primary level continuing on to second level.

The Minister of State said that as politicians and legislators we all have a responsibility in this area. In Sweden the legislators have moved to make young people prime assets in its economy. Young people are prime assets of their country and its economy and should be treated as such. If young people are regarded as a primary asset, as they should be, and as a key to the future, we must do all in our power to ensure that they do not go down the road of drugs.

For many years we as legislators have used token gestures when dealing with young people. We have talked about involving young people and giving them a voice, bringing them back into the communities, using their creative expertise and encouraging them to work with older people but it has been token language for which we must all, and not just the Government, share responsibility. Young people must be engaged and the only way to engage them is to involve them in the democratic process. There are models of best practice both North and South, in County Fermanagh and in County Donegal, for example, where young people are democratically elected by their peers to a council forum. They deal with issues affecting the daily lives of young people.

In 1996 a youth seminar was held in the Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny. It was the first congregation of young people in the county. The main theme of the seminar was that young people are being talked to but not being listened to. Young people want a voice. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, has her heart in the right place. I met her in Letterkenny where she addressed a group of young people. She is doing a nationwide tour. However, it smacks of tokenism when it is said that young people will be involved and helped. This does not go far enough. The Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, is talking to young people; she is not involving them or listening to their concerns. To go to Letterkenny and speak to an audience of approximately 300 young people is not engaging with them and I do not believe that is the way forward.

The Minister of State referred to state-of-the-art centres and they have been discussed at length at committee level. In order to help prevent at-risk young people from becoming involved in the drugs process, there are models of best practice. A state-of-the-art building situated in the Minister of State's constituency has been successful. However, rural areas are not mentioned in the report. Some young people in towns and villages and on the periphery of towns and villages in rural areas are not necessarily interested in the conventional recreational outlets of rural society, such as Gaelic football and soccer. Facilities must be provided for those who are not interested in conventional recreational sports. Young people are interested in the creative arts and music. We have an obligation to provide recreational facilities in a village with a population of approximately 300 or 400 or in a town with a population of approximately 1,000. We have an obligation to provide a room, although not necessarily a state-of-the-art building with basketball and water sports facilities, for example. Nevertheless, a building where young people can congregate with their peers in a supervised setting should be provided.

Young people aged from 16 to 24 will always state in questionnaires and surveys that they want to be in a supervised environment. They may not wish to be supervised by their parents but they want supervision, some form of rules or even self-discipline. It would be allowable for an 18 year old to supervise 16 year olds. A disciplined and supervised environment is required to avoid problems of anti-social behaviour and bullying.

In towns and villages throughout the country, from the Leas-Chathaoirleach's county of Mayo to the bottom of Kerry and up to the top at Malin Head, I do not believe it would cost a significant sum of money and it would help prevent young people from engaging in anti-social behaviour if there was one room available. A room could be rented and a person employed to engage the young people.

I have been canvassing with candidates in Letterkenny. In every estate on the outskirts of Letterkenny there are groups of three or four young people sitting on the doorstep of a vacant house or on the doorstep of their parents house. They have nothing to do and they are bored. All they ask is for somewhere to hang out and be with their friends, listen to music or play it or play snakes and ladders. They want to do the simple things but the key wish is to be with their peers in a supervised setting. I have emphasised this point at committee level. I communicate with young people on a daily basis and that is the point they make.

There are often complaints heard on local radio that young people are inclined to congregate at a focal point in the town. Shopkeepers complain about the young people being in the shops. They are not wanted in the shops because they are probably restricting business and are not spending money. The reason they congregate in these shops is because they have nowhere else to go. Facilities should be provided on an after-school basis, at lunch time or at the weekend.

I am delighted that Judge Haughton has decided to stay on in the drugs court. He has proven that the drugs court works. I commend his work. The figures may seem low and Judge Haughton stated on the radio that there have been 12 rehabilitated clients, but to have even one rehabilitation is important. There is an onus on all of us to help people come off drugs and be rehabilitated in the community.

The Minister of State did not attend the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis but he would have been made welcome if he had attended. He may attend in two years' time.