Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Seán Haughey, to the House. I acknowledge the achievements of the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey, in his efforts to minimise the problem of drug abuse.

I do not agree with Senator Norris's view on the legalisation of drugs and I sing from the same hymn sheet as Senator Quinn on many of the issues he raised. We must address the roots of this fundamental problem, for which there is no fixed solution. Why is there such an escalation in the misuse of drugs? Despite prosperity, full employment and a great deal of money in circulation, the increase in our standard of living has a dark side. We have a society in which people are not happy with their lot. We have misery, dysfunctional families, erosion of the fabric of society and questioning of society's structures. I do not want to be negative but these are fundamental reasons there is unhappiness. One way of alleviating it is through the use of drugs.

I acknowledge the work being done through the national drugs strategy to tackle the problem but money is not always the answer. We are bringing together all the elements of the drugs policy in Ireland under a single framework. The strategy deals with supply, prevention, treatment, research and rehabilitation. We already have a framework which refers to the integrated approach involving the community, educationalists, the Department of Health and Children, the Garda Síochána, parents, agencies, the community and voluntary workers. The question is how to integrate all these groups.

I shall speak about the prevention aspect, that is, creating a national awareness programme. That should be done through television, radio, information booklets, targeting schools, parents, better education programmes and better information. Schools must be vigilant. There should be no tolerance threshold whatever in schools while a student is wearing the school uniform. It should be acknowledged that pushers are about while children are on their way to school. When information comes to the school about a student who is dabbling, schools should come down like a ton of bricks on him or her. School policy should be reinforced regularly at every parent-teacher meeting. Parents must play a role. Schools should look to parents for support and co-operation within the community.

Space must be provided in the curriculum for people working with drugs. The target in education today is points in the leaving certificate and a concentration on academic achievement. We all had to go in that direction. Sometimes it is difficult to find slots in the timetable to invite guest speakers on drugs. Programmes must be put in place. We do not want old fogies dressed in collars and ties as guest speakers but people who have dabbled in drugs and came out at the other end. These are the people we want, not people like me, a careers guidance councillor. I could go in and speak about drugs but I do not have the experience of what it is like to have been there and done that.

While parents express concern about the scourge of drugs in society, there is not enough vigilance in regard to knowing where their sons or daughters are or who they are with. Parents must have the gumption to monitor their children's whereabouts. Parents say to me that the problem of drugs is dreadful. There may be a household down the road where a young boy or girl has been dabbling in drugs. We need to become leaders in our community and in society. This is not my issue, rather it is a societal one that affects every one of us. It is not a money issue.

Premises must be put in place in communities and funds must be made available for the provision of sports or recreational services in them for young students. Funds should be available for training initiatives for teachers, councillors and voluntary groups. I compliment the regional and local drugs task forces, all of which are working well. It will fail, however, if we all do not take it into our own hands to help alleviate the problem. It is about goodwill. A Senator said earlier it is a mindset. One has to change the mind and the body thinking on this issue. Otherwise it will creep into every household.

How do we teach our young people to say "No"? It cannot be done when they have reached the age of 18 or 19 years. It must be done from an early age, examples must be set and a model must come from the home in terms of a family life. In my reading of this problem there is no other way. I appreciate that schools are trying hard and are reaching out but it is a societal issue. If every community takes it on itself to work with the teachers, the Garda, the local voluntary groups, the leaders in the community and the doctors, we have some hope. The old saying is that one starts at one's local base and if the local base is right, it will be right up along the ladder.

What programmes can be put in place in our communities and schools to help lure those who have dropped out to come back into play? There are the community employment scheme, the lifelong learning programme and the vocational training opportunities scheme. I compliment the vocational education committees who are reaching out to communities at large and have become aware of the existence of such problems in their midst. That is the way we should go about treatment and rehabilitation. There are no fixed solutions to this problem. We must be flexible in our attitudes and policies as the challenges arise. It is possible to beat it because it is in our nature. As Irish people we never let things get on top of us in a community and we must deal with it in this way. We are all leaders in our communities but parents, families and society must get this right. Money and legislation will not do it but if we all work together we will eradicate this awful scourge in our society.