Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an tSeanadóir Bacik as ucht a cuid ama a roinnt liom le labhairt ar an ábhar seo. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Ba mhaith liom an tSeanadóir Cassidy a mholadh as ucht an deis a thabhairt dúinn an rún seo a phlé sa Seanad agus as an dóigh ar éirigh leis deis a thabhairt do na páirtithe uilig tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún. Tugann mo pháirtí lán-tacaíocht don rún agus molaim é don tSeanad.

The number of deaths as a result of drugs overdoses has increased markedly since 2001. According to figures provided by the Taoiseach to my colleague, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, such deaths increased by 32% between 2004 and 2005 alone. The most recent figures show that more than one such drug-related death occurs every three days.

Cocaine-related deaths are also on the increase. During the summer, the Dublin County Coroner, Dr. Kieran Geraghty, having dealt with five cocaine-related deaths in one day, issued a stark warning regarding the lethal nature of even small quantities of cocaine. In recent weeks, increased media coverage has underlined the lethal potential of the drug. In this regard, I refer to the unfortunate deaths of two young men in Waterford, following a 21st birthday party, and the model Katy French. Media reports indicate that cocaine may have played a part in the death of a young man in Bray, County Wicklow. Therefore, a total of four deaths took place in one week and a number of young people were hospitalised during the same period.

Drugs carry the highest human toll, namely, that of life itself. The effects of drug addiction on communities and families are unquantifiable. Drug addiction causes great heartache. Those who live with family members who are addicted to drugs hope that they can come off them by means of enrolling in an addiction programme. However, their hopes are often dashed when their loved ones relapse or when treatment is simply not available. The problem of drugs also imposes a great cost on communities, particularly in the context of the intimidation of neighbours and the threat or reality of violence from drug dealers. There is an urgent need to deal with this matter.

Apart from the human cost involved, there is also a large financial cost, namely, the cost to the economy of illegal drugs. Let us take, for example, the cost of the number of drug addicts who present at accident and emergency departments on foot of complications caused by their drug taking. There is also the cost of drug users who have contracted hepatitis C, HIV-AIDS or other diseases. We must also take into account the number of days lost at work as a result of the effects of drugs. There is also the cost of unemployment and disability benefits paid to those who cannot work because of their drug dependency. In addition, there is the cost of guardian payments — these are not high enough at present — to grandparents who must rear children because their parents either died from drugs or are incapable of caring for their offspring. Finally, there is the cost of drug related crime.

Investment in prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reducing the supply of illegal drugs makes social and economic sense. However, it is also time the Government got its priorities in order. Budget 2008 is indicative of where those priorities currently lie and the position in respect of them must be reversed. In the budget, the Government allocated €76 million to the horse and greyhound racing fund. However, it allocated only €64 million to the drugs initiatives and the young people's facilities fund. I call on the Government to introduce a Supplementary Estimate to ensure that spending on anti-drug initiatives matches the priority and urgency involved. If the Government were to reallocate taxpayers' money from the horse and greyhound racing fund, then resources to the drugs initiatives and the young people's facilities fund would be more than doubled.

The Government must also recognise that the drugs crisis is no longer confined to Dublin and other centres throughout the State. Cocaine is rampant in every community and county, rural and urban. Not only must the Government recognise that fact, it must put in place strategies to deal with this reality. At present, drug task forces only operate in urban centres. The Government must devise similar bodies to deal with the drug crisis in rural settings.

I commend the motion to the House.