Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister and I welcome this second report from the National Advisory Committee on Drugs. It is imperative that reports like this are published frequently to keep us informed. A key finding has been that 20% of the overall population has taken illegal drugs in the past year. That is a damning statistic on society. It is well known that a drugs culture leads to a violent culture, which has been witnessed on the streets of many towns and cities across the country. Another statistic showed that twice as many men as women have taken illegal drugs. That is easily verified by observing behaviour on the streets of Dublin.

Another finding in the report is that women reported a higher usage of sedatives, tranquillisers and other anti-depressants. An investigation should be carried out, perhaps by the National Advisory Committee on Drugs or the health boards, into why women have to resort to these drugs.

The progress report dealt with a number of areas including drug use prevention; the use of buprenorphine as a treatment solution for heroin addiction; the consequences for communities of drug abuse; and drug use among the homeless. The advisory committee's recommendations highlight the need to prioritise the tackling of certain forms of substance abuse over others. This is certainly the case in respect of cocaine, the use of which is increasing, as mentioned by other Senators. The report also points out that drug prevention policy should take into account the connections between illegal drugs and legal drug products such as tobacco and alcohol. This area should be accorded a higher priority. Only last week we spoke about the abuse of alcohol in society. When alcohol is mixed with drugs, it certainly becomes a lethal cocktail.

The recommendations also referred to the need for distinctive programmes to be focused on both problematic and serious drug use by young people in socially disadvantaged communities. Included in these categories of drug abuse are the use of heroin and experimental drug use by young people from such communities. Unfortunately, drug gangs prey on those in socially disadvantaged areas because they regard them as soft targets. We must pump resources into these areas.

Another key recommendation was to concentrate more on the social causes of drug abuse, particularly to have more programmes to deal with social exclusion. We need more research and resources in disadvantaged areas. Schools must also be targeted by the Department to inform young people of prevention policies in particular and of the effects of drug abuse. This should be done in an aggressive manner.

There should be greater inter-agency co-operation at Government level to tackle drug abuse, cocaine abuse in particular. I read that the Minister of State stated only last year that this was only a very small problem, affecting 1% of the population. The figure of 1% pertains to everybody from naught to 90 but the problem is almost exclusively concentrated in the 15-34 year old age group. The south Dublin and Wicklow region, covered by the Eastern Health Board, has the highest reported level of cocaine use in the Republic, with 6.3% of all adults in the region having taken it. The figure pertaining to those aged between 15 and 34 in the same area is10.5%, which exceeds the highest level recorded previously in the EU, namely 8.7%. This latter figure was recorded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Therefore, the cocaine problem in the south Dublin and Wicklow region is one of the most significant in the EU and something will have to be done to combat it.

Other Senators have also mentioned the problem of cocaine. Unlike heroin addiction, which can be treated by methadone, no treatment seems to be available for the abuse of cocaine. There is a need for the expansion of counselling services in this regard. Dr. Des Corrigan, chairman of the advisory committee, warned that the Republic may be beginning to experience a cocaine epidemic which may take some time to manifest itself. However, if the figures are to be believed, it is already manifesting itself.

I have alluded to the fact that the report highlights the abuse of legal drugs, including alcohol, tobacco, anti-depressants and tranquillisers, and I called for some research to be done in this area. It was remiss of those responsible for the strategy that alcohol abuse was not included in it when it was being established. My party colleague in the Dáil has called for the creation of a national addiction strategy that would incorporate the existing national drugs strategy and also have proposals on tackling alcohol abuse. A comprehensive addiction strategy would deal with the abuse of all drugs, both legal and illegal. Such a strategy is necessary.

The remit of the drugs task forces must be broadened to allow them to identify and address addiction problems in their local communities, whether these involve drink or drugs. It is very important that the gardaí investigate matters on the ground and know what is going on. There is no doubt that the task forces should be allocated increased funding and have extra manpower to allow them to tackle the abuse of drink and drugs, which is so prevalent.

We demand that the Government fulfil its promise to recruit 2,000 extra gardaí. We have heard this promise so often, yet only 121 extra gardaí have been recruited since the Government took office. This is an indictment of the Government. A key element of the national drugs strategy was that extra gardaí would be made available for community policing where drug abuse and drug dealing are most prevalent. We need these gardaí so let us get moving on this.

The money being seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau should not go into central funds. It should be ring-fenced specifically to promote drug prevention and fund drug treatment services. Fine Gael argues that those who suffer most at the hands of the drug dealers should benefit most from the revenue and assets seized from drug dealers by the Criminal Assets Bureau. I hope action will be taken to address the problems I have mentioned.