Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

As it is my first time to encounter my old friend, Deputy Pat Carey, as a Minister of State in the House, I congratulate him on his new appointment. I have complete confidence in his ability to deliver on his remit, knowing him from his days on Dublin City Council. Earlier, I reflected on our time in the council chamber when he sat on one side of me and the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Mary Hanafin, sat on the other. I wondered where I went wrong. Obviously, I did not work hard enough.

The illegal drugs trade is an international menace. It is estimated its value is approximately €500 billion, of which €1 billion can be associated with our domestic situation. It is an obscene amount of money and gives some indication of the difficulty in tackling this problem.

The use of drugs, particularly addictive substances such as heroin and cocaine, has numerous economic and social costs such as drug related deaths and blood-borne diseases. There are also the costs to the individual, the family and the community. In many addicts' cases in Dublin city, their parents were also drug addicts. There are also many other functioning families who have a son or daughter who has fallen off the wagon. There is nothing worse than to witness the distress of such a family situation.

No state has managed to come to terms with the drugs problem. Neither the heavy-handed approach of the US nor the softer approach of the Netherlands has worked. This highlights there are no quick solutions to this problem. The national drugs strategy, which runs to 2008, demonstrates the great efforts the Government is prepared to commit to bring some order to this escalating problem. The strategy is balanced and well-focused, aiming to reduce drug related harm and disrupt the operations of the drugs markets.

Senator Buttimer alluded to the recent discovery of a drugs shipment off the west Cork coast, which was a stroke of luck. In that cache there was enough for a ten-year supply for this country which gives some indication of the moneys and quantities involved. How did the seizure affect the individuals involved? Did it take any drug barons out of existence? It probably did not, which is frightening.

There are encouraging signs of progress in the development of the strategy. This is so whether one looks at the area of seizure, expansion of the treatment service or the prevention programmes in schools. As well as that, complementary legislation was introduced by the Oireachtas in the past five years, such as the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This was outstanding legislation and cut to the heart of many of the drug barons. As well as that there was the Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Act 2004 and the Criminal Justice (Illicit Traffic by Sea) Act 2003. As regards the latter two, I wonder how effective they are, if at all. Is there proof that they have been used to any great effect? They should have been, because one has cross-Border associations between different countries while the other is concerned with nobbling these fellows at sea when they are coming in. Many fine Bills are enacted through the Houses of the Oireachas, but much of the time we do not review their effectiveness. That can be said, probably, of most legislation.

The Minister of State alluded to the local task forces. I have no doubt they have been an outstanding success. Some 12 of the initial 14 came into the Dublin area. As someone who represented the north inner city, which is unfortunately blighted by drugs, I have seen first-hand the efforts put in there and the results. One of the reasons they have been successful is that a good deal of thought was put into the make-up of these forces in the first instance. Health executives were involved along with many people who encounter the drugs problem in their everyday lives. These include the Garda Síochána, probation and welfare officers, public representatives and FÁS as well as many voluntary agencies. I recall the late 1980s and early 1990s when it was people power, perhaps, that brought about these task forces in the first place. The Minister of State will recall, as I do, local people taking to the streets, visiting these people's houses in the evenings, chanting outside and rooting them out. Basically they put the focus on them and embarrassed them out of their localities in some instances.

Many outstanding services and facilities have been established since those local task forces came on stream. If proof is needed that vulnerable children can be taken out of their environment and helped, one has only to look at the programme, "Diarmuid's Pony Kids", which was on television the other night, where five or six children were taken from various areas such as Ballyfermot and Finglas and there was one young fellow from the Traveller community. They were put on a ten week course of horse riding, culminating in their time in the limelight at the RDS. It was gratifying to see the joy those children derived from the exercise and to hear that they were resolved to develop their interest and perhaps take up this or another sport, thereby taking them out of the horrible mire they are in. That was one of the good things in the programme. I wish the Minister of State well and hope he continues to focus his resources in the right areas.