Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit and I thank him for his interest in this issue. It is clear from his opening words that he has a good grasp of the comprehensiveness and complexity of the drug problem in his constituency. He has also visited a number of drug treatment projects in my area and has seen at first hand how the national drugs strategy is working and its effects on the ground.

I welcome the first progress report of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs and congratulate the team involved in this comprehensive analysis of the ongoing work in the field of research. As the Minister of State pointed out, research is one of the pillars of the national drugs strategy and an essential part of the effort to contain and minimise the effects of drug abuse.

The various sub-committees report under various headings, including consequences, early warning, emerging trends, prevalence, prevention and treatment and rehabilitation. The membership of the committee includes a comprehensive mix of people working on the ground, both statutory and voluntary, as well as academics and senior representatives from Departments. The report provides a comprehensive picture of the current position on drug abuse.

The three year programme is based on a good business plan and has produced a clear review of ongoing research, which is working towards better co-ordination in the provision and dissemination of information on drugs misuse. I welcome the fact that the research was undertaken in a spirit of collaboration and partnership with the relevant services and that the tenets of respect, dignity, transparency and fairness are at the centre of the committee's work. It is essential, particularly when one is addressing the specific area of addiction, that the people to whom one is talking and of whom one is asking questions are happy and comfortable with the approach taken. This is the only way to obtain a comprehensive response and adequate, usable information.

The workload of the committee is considerable and shows the scale and range of the problems. The survey commissioned into drug use will also cover tobacco and alcohol, which is essential given that these are legal but addictive substances which cause major problems for some individuals, although not everybody. To use an analogy, while some people can take or leave cannabis, for others it is a gateway drug into harder drugs. It is important, therefore, that all these substance are surveyed and I also welcome the survey of third level students.

It will also be important to establish a mortality rate among drug users. The question of what cause of death should be included on the death certificates of drug victims has been the subject of a debate in recent years. Drug overdose has been included as a cause of death only recently, whereas in the past all sorts of explanations were given on death certificates. This meant we had no comprehensive figures which would have allowed us to establish a precise mortality rate.

The progress report gives consideration to the experience of drug workers and community and family organisations, a vital aspect of research. To cultivate an atmosphere of co-operation, it is essential that those who participate in the research are assured of confidentiality, respect and safety.

If the street protests of the late 1980s and early 1990s showed us anything, it was that communities can only take so much and will come together to protect themselves when they are threatened or when their children's lives are put at risk. It took a major heroin epidemic in Dublin and the deaths of a number of young people to galvanise communities. It was through their efforts that the Government and agencies responsible in this area responded.

Despite the learning and dialogue of the past ten years, a number of young people have died as a direct result of drug abuse, others have contracted life-long debilitating diseases, children have suffered and families have broken up. The figures in the prevalence report show a marked contrast between areas. Prevalence in some areas is as low as 0.3%, but much higher in many others, specifically, as the Minister of State pointed out, in areas covered by the Northern Area Health Board.

A prevalence figure among the overall population of 5% may not appear particularly high, but when it is broken down by area one finds that many small areas, particularly in the north inner city, have much higher rates. Many of these areas have been particularly deprived over the years in the area of employment, housing and facilities and are now badly affected by drugs.

While the strategy has managed to tackle some of the problems in most of the worst affected area, there are signs of worrying developments in the drug culture. Recently, I have learned of an upsurge in cocaine use in the north inner city, particularly among young people. With a lead-in time for producing a research project of this nature of between 18 months to two years, it is not surprising that it does not record a rapid increase in the numbers of young people using cocaine. I met members of a group on Monday which had carried out a survey of drugs treatment projects around the north and south inner city. Up to 92% of its clients were using cocaine.

The figures are masked because the current trend is to mix cocaine with heroin and other forms of opium. While the figures give a picture they do not give a focused picture if they are broken down into local areas. This is where the local drugs task forces are successful as they have local people working on the ground who report directly to them. That is delivered to the Minister's office which reports back to the committee on social inclusion. This is where policy is formulated.

It is essential that the mid-term review gives special attention to those areas which have suffered the most over the years, although I accept that it has to be done on a national basis. I refer to areas such as the north inner-city, Ballymun and Finglas. Huge resources have been pumped into these areas. A state-of-the-art multi-million pound complex opened recently in Cabra as a result of the young person's services and facilities fund. This was aimed at getting young people involved and off the street. This complex has changing rooms, gym facilities and an indoor arena but it does not cater exclusively for sports. There are also dance studios, computer rooms and rooms for education. Kids will not go there of their own accord as they have to be attracted. They have to be given a reason to get away from the drugs culture and out of the cycle that starts with teenage smoking and drinking and moves on to cannabis and so on. Many have gone down that road, starting innocently and ending up in trouble. Much has been done and any of the organisations will say so.

There are concerns about the strategy of funding for the drugs task forces. The system was put in place to ring-fence funds at the beginning and it is essential that it continues. In some areas, the funding made available by the Department is not ring-fenced and goes directly to the health boards. It therefore ends up in the central budgets for the health boards and is eventually reduced on the ground.

Users tend to be more aggressive when they take cocaine as the high apparently does not last as long as heroin and therefore they need more. They are prone to depression and in a few cases in my constituency this has led to suicide. Deep vein thrombosis, abscesses and so on are the results of cocaine abuse but there is no medical treatment for cocaine addiction. There is no equivalent to methadone and buprenorphine has not yet been clinically proven to work. These are issues that have to be examined in the review.

It would be a shame to lose any of the lessons learned from the heroin epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s in Dublin. The Minister is being informed through his committee and through the local drugs task forces of the position on the ground. I congratulate the Department on the holistic way in which it deals with this complex problem. The problem is not solely confined to young men or women, particular areas in the northside and the southside of Dublin or anywhere else. There is a massive upsurge in the production of cocaine and other drugs worldwide. The Garda has built up contacts worldwide through agencies like Interpol.

Nonetheless, we can only tackle problems on our own doorstep. The strategy is in place until 2008 and is subject to review this year. There is an opportunity to take account of all the changes that have taken place in the past ten years on drug misuse and drug treatment. I urge the Minister to talk to those who are working on the ground as he has been doing. They will try to protect their own little patch but that is understandable. These are the areas that are the most affected by drug abuse. I also want to mention the families involved. Many people have died from heroin abuse in north inner-city Dublin. Some of the families affected came together and provided a support group. While the addict is going through hell, the parents and siblings of the addict suffer as well and there is nothing they can do. They can only offer support to the individual so it is essential that those families are also supported. The Department, in the context of the review, is seeking to provide greater support for the families and that is essential.