Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

A motion was tabled for the extension of the drugs court on a nationwide basis. It has worked in north Dublin and it should be extended to cities such as Limerick and Cork and to Athlone and Letterkenny and other parts of Dublin. The Minister of State may say that it is a pilot scheme but Judge Haughton has proved that the pilot model has worked. It should be extended on a nationwide basis.

Mandatory sentencing is a very sensitive issue but it has been introduced. Anyone involved in the supply of drugs should be handed an automatic ten-year prison sentence. I acknowledge that there are reasons such as co-operation with the Garda Síochána which help avoid that sentence. I am aware that people are being caught supplying drugs and they are not receiving the appropriate sentence. There is no punishment for the crime. We must be harder on those who supply drugs. While I am aware this does not come under the responsibility of the Minister of State, these issues are interrelated and it is important we continue to recognise the correlation between crime and punishment.

Prevention is said to be better than cure, which is also important. Prevention will require providing outlets and a positive environment for young people. The Minister of State may or may not have another couple of years in office but the onus is on the Government to examine whether pilot models in Sweden and elsewhere in Scandinavia would work here because I believe they would.

The youth council in Donegal is a forum for young people which sits in Donegal County Council, shadowing senior county councillors. The Minister of State and his team should visit the county, particularly as we approach such a nice time of year, to observe how the youth project operates and to listen to the honesty of the young people involved as they speak in the council chamber. As he will be aware, county council meetings can last for up to four days. Meetings of the youth council, however, provide interesting, honest debate conducted in a non-partisan manner.

I am sure a development worker in the council would facilitate a debate on drugs on behalf of the Minister of State, including a contribution from the North Western Health Board. I am aware he will be busy campaigning for the local elections and is well informed on these issues with which he deals on a daily basis, but such a debate would be a learning exercise for everybody involved. It is a matter for him to take my suggestion on board.